On September 19, 2022, the SPI office in the city of Porto was pleased to receive the representatives of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ-Brazil), Felipe Silva and Fernando Serva, for a meeting between the spokespersons of FIOCRUZ, and Sara Medina and the consultants, Francisco Rocha and Andréia Santos, on behalf of SPI.
The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) is a Brazilian institution for research and development in biological sciences, located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, and linked to the Ministry of Health. It was created in 1900 by the physician and public health specialist Oswaldo Cruz, and is the most important health science and technology institution in Latin America, serving as a leading example in public health research sector.
FIOCRUZ also has a partnership with the University of Aveiro (Portugal), where it developed the International Platform for Science, Technology and Innovation in Health (PICTS).
The meeting between SPI and FIOCRUZ focused on a presentation by the latter on a recently developed project, which seeks international opportunities and technical advice for the implementation of new technologies associated with the concept of Industry 4.0. This project consists of the construction of a new unit in the city of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and will serve as the Industrial Complex of Biotechnology in Health (CIBS) where several types of vaccines and biopharmaceuticals of international application will be produced. This project was outlined by FIOCRUZ and received funds of around one billion Euros from the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), in addition to another international entity.
Regarding the conclusions reached at the meeting, both FIOCRUZ and SPI expressed their interest in working together on future projects and building bridges between the two institutions, establishing intercontinental cooperation bridges in various areas of research and knowledge.