[Opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry and the local development logic based on the Brazilian biomes: the basis for a national policy discussion].

This study discusses new concepts in the technological development of plant-derived medicines and their relevance to public health, highlighting opportunities in the pharmaceutical market both for the production of herbal medicines and the development of new drugs based on plant substrates and molecules. Recent theoretical and scientific premises for the socioeconomic development of the "Knowledge Age" (considering local production arrangements and systems) could guarantee a competitive advantage for the sector, given the exuberant flora and biodiversity in the various Brazilian biomes.