Brasília – The federal government is structuring the use of technological procurement (encomenda tecnológica) as a targeted instrument to acquire health technologies and strategic inputs, with initial contracts planned for this year to test the viability of the mechanism. This initiative, led by the Ministry of Health together with the Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation in Health, aims to identify priority demands of SUS including medical devices, vaccines and essential health supplies and to leverage public purchasing power to stimulate research, development and innovation (R&D&I) in sectors where solutions are not readily available on the market.

Technological procurement is a special type of public acquisition designed to contract R&D and innovation services involving technological risk — meaning the State commissions the development of solutions that may not yet exist commercially, with the objective of meeting a clearly defined public health need. In this context, an initial, smaller-scale technological order will be executed to assess operational viability, while future rounds could address vaccines, diagnostic tools, therapeutic devices and other strategic inputs for the Unified Health System (SUS).

Officials involved in the rollout also indicate plans to complement procurement efforts by strengthening Brazil’s clinical research infrastructure, including training personnel, building accredited research centers and providing regulatory support — a response to long-standing calls for an integrated innovation ecosystem in health. The strategy is being developed in coordination with stakeholders from industry and science as part of broader efforts to reinforce the Health Industrial Complex and reduce dependence on imported technologies.

Source: JOTA