UFRJ Technology Park receives Fiocruz research center

Fiocruz and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) signed an agreement last Wednesday (2/21) to set up a research center in the UFRJ Technology Park. The partnership between the institutions will allow setting up an innovation-promoting environment in the form of a health technology platform, aimed at developing products, services and technologies to meet the demands of the Unified Health System (SUS). Present at the signing ceremony were the dean of UFRJ, Roberto de Andrade Medronho, the director of the Park, Romildo Toledo, and the president of Fiocruz, Mario Moreira.

The partnership will enable the installation of an innovation-promoting environment, configured in the form of a health technology platform (photo: Arquivo Parque)

The new research center will be housed in a building with a total built area of 4,849.40 m² and a private open area of 1,870.00 m², on a plot of 7,071.28 m². Structured in such a way as to integrate projects based on biotechnology, chemical synthesis and nanotechnology, among others, the research center will be a professional environment where the different areas will coexist and share the facilities of modern platforms, operated in accordance with best practices and set up for this purpose.

"Today is a very important day for the Brazilian health and technology system. Fiocruz and UFRJ have joined forces with the aim of developing the country economically and, above all, socially. These are two centuries-old institutions whose DNA is the production of knowledge and the development of science and technology. This collaborative laboratory is the patrimony of UFRJ, Fiocruz and Brazilian society," said Mario Moreira.

The ceremony was attended by the rector of UFRJ, Roberto de Andrade Medronho, the director of the Park, Romildo Toledo, and the president of Fiocruz, Mario Moreira (photo: Arquivo Parque)

"This partnership between Fiocruz and UFRJ is fundamental for the development of science, technology and innovation in the country. We, through the Health Economic-Industrial Complex [Ceis], have great contributions to make to our population. Today, the health sector is crucial for social development, as it accounts for a large part of the GDP and a large part of the workforce," said Roberto Medronho.

Research center

The UFRJ Technology Park, combined with Fiocruz's expertise, has the potential to form strategic partnerships for innovation. Fiocruz's Innovation Policy, established by Ordinance 1.286/2018-PR, defines as a guideline the participation and encouragement to create, implement and expand innovation-promoting environments, including innovation districts, parks and technology hubs.

Subscription allows the installation of a new environment to develop products, services and technologies to meet the demands of the SUS (photo: Arquivo Parque)

"The proposal is to leverage Fiocruz's expertise within the scope of Ceis, with an infrastructure 100% dedicated to technological development, technically coordinated by the Foundation's industries, which have the knowledge of production standards and the regulatory needs required for the development of health products." says Marco Krieger, vice president of Production and Innovation in Health at Fiocruz.

The new research center will be located in a building with a total built area of 4,849.40 m² (photo: UFRJ)

For the Park's director, Romildo Toledo, the arrival of Fiocruz reinforces the potential of the university's innovation ecosystem for the country's development and brings benefits for public health in Brazil. "The presence of the Fiocruz research center in the UFRJ Technology Park is, in fact, an achievement of great importance for public health in Brazil. By concentrating efforts on key areas such as pharmaceutical equivalence and pharmacokinetics, as well as pharmaceutical micro- and nanotechnologies, we are strengthening the scientific basis for the development of more effective medicines," Toledo points out. "The National Reference Center in Pharmacochemistry and the advanced Pilot Plant for Immunobiologicals represent significant advances, boosting national production capacity and contributing directly to autonomy and security in the health area, benefiting the Brazilian population."