Representatives from the pharmaceutical industry, innovation companies, funding agencies, and government bodies met in Campinas, São Paulo, to discuss initiatives in radical innovation
On Tuesday, February 10th, approximately 50 specialists, researchers, and executives from pharmaceutical companies, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), and the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) met at the CNPEM campus in Campinas, São Paulo, to discuss the recently launched Program for Radical Innovation in Health .
The Program is part of a contract signed between the Ministry of Health and CNPEM in November 2025, which aims to incorporate initiatives with a direct impact on the health economic-industrial complex into the Center’s institutional planning. The first of these seeks to establish an innovation program dedicated to the development of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), advanced biomedical technologies, and innovative therapeutic solutions, with the goal of reducing Brazil’s dependence on imports, which currently exceeds 90%.
Grax Medina/MS
“This initiative was designed to establish a multi-user research infrastructure dedicated exclusively to radical innovation in healthcare, focusing on meeting industry demands and boosting innovation projects from academia and startups. To achieve this goal, generating products that benefit the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), it is essential that we foster dialogue with all actors involved. This first meeting will help us understand the challenges and motivations of the pharmaceutical industry in the country, allowing us to establish a program that meets the sector’s needs”, says Fernanda De Negri, Secretary of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Ministry of Health.
The meeting was marked by the presentation of the main drivers of the Program, which aims for the growth of the national pharmaceutical industry, meeting specific demands of the SUS, the pursuit of national sovereignty, filling gaps in the pharmaceutical innovation chain in Brazil, and strengthening translational science between academia and companies. The key concepts that guided the design of the Program were also discussed, such as the innovation process, governance, possible business models, and potential sources and forms of funding. The main experimental skills and techniques, equipment, and space concepts initially designed for the infrastructure were also presented.
“Transforming Brazil’s scientific capacity into technological autonomy for the SUS with the active participation of national industry is a huge challenge and a unique window of opportunity. Our experience with other major CNPEM projects, such as Sirius and Orion, shows that this type of meeting, focused on the listening process, exchanging ideas and criticism, is key to promoting integration and ensuring the success of shared infrastructures. It is a pleasure to host this type of event”, celebrates Antonio José Roque da Silva, Director-General of CNPEM.
About CNPEM
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) is home to a state-of-the-art, multi-user and multidisciplinary scientific environment and works on different fronts within the Brazilian National System for Science, Technology and Innovation. A social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), CNPEM is driven by research that impacts the areas of health, energy, renewable materials, and sustainability. It is responsible for Sirius, the largest assembly of scientific equipment constructed in the country, and is currently constructing Project Orion, a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research. Highly specialized science and engineering teams, sophisticated infrastructure open to the scientific community, strategic lines of investigation, innovative projects involving the productive sector, and training for researchers and students are the pillars of this institution that is unique in Brazil and able to serve as a bridge between knowledge and innovation. CNPEM’s research and development activities are carried out through its four National Laboratories: Synchrotron Light (LNLS), Biosciences (LNBio), Nanotechnology (LNNano), Biorenewables (LNBR), as well as its Technology Unit (DAT) and the Ilum School of Science — an undergraduate program in Science and Technology supported by the Ministry of Education (MEC).
