Agreement will expand the Center’s role and host national projects in pharmaceutical inputs, magnetic resonance, and the creation of a health innovation network
The federal government has announced an agreement to make CNPEM (Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials, social organization linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, MCTI), a health innovation hub in Brazil. Through an addendum signed this week by the MCTI and the Ministry of Health, CNPEM will receive investments of R$ 67.4 million to accelerate the development of critical technologies for the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS).
Photo: Rodrigo Cabral (ASCOM/MJSP)
The resources will be used to boost strategic activities, expand scientific infrastructure, hire specialists, and enable mission-oriented innovation programs driven by national priorities.
The addendum incorporates into CNPEM’s institutional planning initiatives with direct impact on the health economic-industrial complex. The first of these is to transform the Center into a core hub of the national ecosystem dedicated to the development of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), advanced biomedical technologies, and innovative therapeutic solutions, with the objective of reducing Brazil’s dependence on imports, which currently exceeds 90%.
“This integration, with the intervention of the Ministry of Health, is a strategic milestone for CNPEM. It seeks to foster the national development of drugs and diagnostic technologies, strengthening our mission to connect our cutting-edge science to the needs of the SUS and generating knowledge to support public health policies,” said CNPEM’s Director-General, Antonio José Roque da Silva.
Among the planned actions are the structuring of national biofoundries, which are integrated systems of automation, robotics, and software aimed at accelerating research. The initiatives also include the implementation of artificial intelligence platforms for drug discovery, the expansion of biobanks and microbial collections, and support for the development of up to 15 new radical innovation projects, in addition to the immediate execution of four pilot projects funded by the Ministry of Health.
In the first 12 months, CNPEM will implement the dedicated infrastructure, launch national calls, select high-impact projects, and initiate the scientific and technological work required to sustain national innovation in APIs.
Another strategic project incorporated into the addendum foresees the development of the first Brazilian prototype of a clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device for extremities, a technology that could reduce costs and expand access to imaging exams throughout the country. The idea is to leverage CNPEM’s know-how, built over decades of research on magnets, high-reliability electronics, and control systems, present in initiatives such as UVX and Sirius.
The MRI equipment will be developed in six stages over 24 months, including conceptual studies, electromagnetic development of magnets and coils, manufacturing of critical components, full system integration, and validation with image generation. The initiative paves the way for Brazilian companies to, in the future, manufacture nationally developed equipment that is competitive and accessible to the SUS and emerging markets.
The addendum also establishes the creation of a national health innovation network coordinated by CNPEM, aiming to decentralize scientific infrastructure currently concentrated in São Paulo and to connect the Center with strategic institutions in different regions of the country.
The plan includes mapping centers of excellence in at least five states, formalizing three strategic alliances, implementing an integrated governance platform, and opening at least one decentralized unit by 2027.
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).
