In a private briefing hosted by the Brazil Program at the Inter-American Dialogue, Fernanda de Negri, secretary for science, technology, and innovation in health at Brazil’s Ministry of Health, discussed recent policy efforts to strengthen Brazil’s health and innovation ecosystem. The conversation addressed the challenges of incorporating new technologies into Brazil’s public health system, financing for health innovation, and the role of industrial policy within the Health Economic–Industrial Complex framework.

De Negri highlighted the persistent challenge of balancing access to new medical technologies with fiscal constraints in Brazil’s public health system. The pace of adoption of new technologies is often criticized as being slow, but governments must operate within limited budgets while ensuring equitable access for the population. In this context, strengthening domestic technological and productive capacity is viewed as a key strategy.

She explained that previous policies, particularly the Partnerships for Productive Development (PDPs), were successful in expanding local manufacturing capacity but were primarily focused on production rather than innovation. Current policy discussions aim to complement these initiatives by strengthening the innovation pipeline, including efforts to support more advanced research and development and to leverage Brazil’s scientific infrastructure.

Another major policy priority involves expanding Brazil’s role in global clinical research. Recent legislation and regulatory steps are expected to improve the country’s framework, which could help position Brazil as a more attractive destination for research investment while also enabling earlier access to innovative treatments and improving the quality of care.

The discussion also addressed the growing role of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI). De Negri emphasized that Brazil’s universal health system generates a large volume of data that could support advances in research, policy design, and healthcare delivery. Ongoing efforts to integrate health information systems and adopt a unified patient identifier are expected to improve interoperability and create new opportunities for the use of artificial intelligence in diagnostics, research, and health system management.

This event was by invitation only.