Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Feature
  • Published:

Brazilian health biotech—fostering crosstalk between public and private sectors

Brazil boasts world-class biomedical science, but tension between the public and private sectors hinders progress in health biotech innovation.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. World Health Organization. Demographic and Socioeconomic Statistics, (WHO, Geneva, 2005). <http://www.who.int/healthinfo/statistics/ whostat2005_demosocio_en.pdf> Accessed April 15, 2008.

  2. Thorsteinsdöttir, H., Quach, U., Martin, D., Daar, A.S. & Singer, P.A. Health biotechnology innovation in developing countries. Nat. Biotechnol., Suppl DC1–DC22 (2004).

  3. Ferrer, M., Thorsteinsdöttir, H., Quach, U., Singer, P.A. & Daar, A.S. The scientific muscle of Brazil's health biotechnology. Nat. Biotechnol. 22 Suppl, DC8–DC12 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Frew, S.E. et al. India's health biotech sector at a crossroads. Nat. Biotechnol. 25, 403–417 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Frew, S.E. et al. Chinese health biotech and the billion-patient market. Nat. Biotechnol. 26, 37–53 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Policy Brief, O.E.C.D. Economic Survey of Brazil, 2006. (Organization For Economic Co-Operation And Development, Paris, 2006) <http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/47/47/37667205.pdf> Accessed September 10, 2007)

  7. Bonalume Neto, R. Brazil next biotech trailblazer in Latin America? Nat. Biotechnol. 24, 1184 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. FAPESP. Translating Research into Business; Ten Years Promoting Technological Innovation. (The State of São Paulo Research Foundation, São Paulo, 2005) <http://www.fapesp.br/publicacoes/fichas_inovacao_en.pdf> Accessed, April 15, 2008.

  9. Organization For Economic Co-Operation And Development. OECD in Figures, 2007 Edition. (OECD, Paris, 2007). <http://oberon.sourceoecd.org/pdf/figures_2007/en/oif.pdf> Accessed: April 19, 2008.

  10. World Health Organization. Immunization Profile - Brazil. (WHO, Geneva, 2007) <http://www.who.int/vaccines/globalsummary/ immunization/countryprofileresult.cfm?C='bra'> Accessed September 2, 2007.

  11. Report, P. Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q3 2006. (2006). <http://www.piribo.com/publications/country/latin_america/brazil/ brazil_pharmaceuticals_healthcare_report_q3_2006.html> Accessed September 12, 2007.

  12. Basso, M. Intervention of health authorities in patent examination: the Brazilian practice of the prior consent. Int. J. Intellectual Property Management 1, 54–74 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Peer, M. Patients over patents, says Brazil health ministry (April 10, 2008). <http://www.forbes.com/markets/2008/04/10/gilead-sciences-closer-markets-equity-cx_mp_0410markets44.html> Accessed April 18, 2008.

  14. Cardoso, T.A.O. et al. Memories of biotechnology in Brazil: lessons to be learned. Applied Biosafety 10, 160–168 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Rohter, L. In Brazil, a conviction on biopiracy charges angers scientists. International Herald Tribune (August 29, 2007).<http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/29/healthscience/ snbiopiracy.php>

    Google Scholar 

  16. Quezada, F. Status and Potential of Commercial Bioprospecting Activities in Latin America and the Caribbean. (United Nations Publications, New York, 2007).

  17. Marques, R. The Brazilian system of innovation in biotechnology: a preliminary study. J. Technol. Manag. Innov. 2, 55–63 (2007).

    Google Scholar 

  18. Guimarães, J.A. & Humann, M.C. Training of human resources in science and technology in Brazil: the importance of a vigorous post-graduate program and its impact on the development of the country. Scientometrics 34, 101–119 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Leta, J., Glänzel, W. & Thijs, B. Science in Brazil. Part 2: sectoral and institutional research profiles. Scientometrics 67, 87–105 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Business, D. In Brazil. (British Chamber of Commerce Publication, São Paulo, Brazil, 2005).

  21. Medical News Today. Brazilian President Silva issues compulsory license for Merck's antiretroviral efavirenz (May 9, 2007). <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/70154.php> Accessed August 24, 2007.

  22. Okie, S. Fighting HIV–lessons from Brazil. N. Engl. J. Med. 354, 1977–1981 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Joint UNAIDS/WHO Report. Latin America Aids Epidemic Update, Regional Summary. (2007) <http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/2008/ jc1530_epibriefs_latinamerica_en.pdf> Accessed April 16, 2008.

  24. Grangeiro, A., Teixeira, L., Bastos, F.I. & Teixeira, P. Sustainability of Brazilian Policy for Access to Antiretroviral Drugs. Rev. Saude Publica 40 Suppl., 60–69 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Espicom Business Intelligence Report. The Outlook for Pharmaceuticals in Latin America to 2012; Gearing Towards Global Competitiveness? (July 31, 2007). <https://www.espicom.com/prodcat.nsf/Product_ID_Lookup/ 00000395?OpenDocument> Accessed October 22, 2007.

Download references

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge Halla Thorsteinsdottir, Ana Lucia Delgado Assad, William Marandola, Eduardo Emrich Soares and Joao de S.B. Paes de Carvalho for their assistance and guidance. We also acknowledge the valuable comments of Christopher Earl, Charles Gardner, Mario Gobbo, Hannah Kettler, Marsha Wulff and Andrew Taylor in shaping the overall study design, and Billie-Jo Hardy for her editorial assistance. The McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health, Program on Life Sciences, Ethics and Policy is primarily supported by Genome Canada through the Ontario Genomics Institute and the Ontario Research Fund, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This study is also funded by the Rockefeller Foundation (New York) and BioVentures for Global Health (Washington, DC, USA), and through in-kind contributions from Burrill & Company (San Francisco) and Wulff Capital (Dallas). Other matching partners are listed at http://www.mrcglobal.org/. A.S.D. and P.A.S. are supported by the McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine. P.A.S. is supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Distinguished Investigator award.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

P.A.S. is a member of the Industrial Policy Advisory Committee of Merck Frosst Canada and in the past has received research funds from Merck & Co. He also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of BioVeda Fund II in China. Stephen M. Sammut is affiliated with Burrill & Co., an international biotechnology venture capital firm, but which currently has no activities in Latin America.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Text and Figures

Supplementary Methods (PDF 15 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Rezaie, R., Frew, S., Sammut, S. et al. Brazilian health biotech—fostering crosstalk between public and private sectors. Nat Biotechnol 26, 627–644 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0608-627

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0608-627

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing