NIH Director Dr. Francis S. Collins recently visited Brazil to tour top research sites and to discuss the exceptional opportunities to expand scientific collaborations between the two countries. Brazil’s scientific leaders desire to establish partnerships with NIH to implement personalized medicine and to better integrate EMRs along with mobile technologies into the research enterprise.
In addition to the desire to develop research partnerships other medical technology developments are taking place in Brazil. Today, the total market size for medical equipment in Brazil at $6.328 billion is expected to grow in 2014 with the country’s strengthened currency. Today, private and public hospitals have greater purchasing power with the continued expansion of Brazil’s private healthcare sector.
There are few high quality Brazilian manufacturers of advanced medical products so it is anticipated that Brazil’s reliance on imports will continue for some time. Local buyers view U.S and other foreign products mainly from Canada and Europe as having comparable quality and reliability so financing terms often become the criteria in making a sale.
The current market trends include the demand for clinical chemistry, biomedical, and advanced medical devices, laboratory equipment, diagnostic devices, monitoring equipment, orthopedics and implants, health IT, and dental products. The need for drugs, pharmaceuticals, and nutrition supplements also continues to grow.
The trend is for home healthcare products which has grown dramatically in recent years. The country has about 150 home health care companies as compared to about 1,440 in the U.S. In Brazil, these companies are increasingly viewed as a good way to cut hospitalization costs while offering better services to patients.
Brazilian health insurance companies are responsible for paying 99 percent of the costs related to home care treatment so the U.S Commercial Service sees the market for home health care products growing during the coming years. Brazil’s Regional Nursing Council is developing procedures on how to regulate and provide standards for this market.
Medical products in Brazil are highly regulated by the National Agency of Sanitary Surveillance (Anvisa), the Brazilian counterpart of FDA. All products must be registered in order to be commercialized. For products with higher risk, it may be necessary to have additional local certifications, international market data, and even inspections in manufacturing plants.
The trade event called “Hospitalar” at www.hospitalar.com was held May 2014 in Sao Paulo Brazil, is considered the largest medical event in Latin America and considered an important opportunity for U.S firms to find business partnerships in the country.
Another trade fair “MEDTEC MDM Brazil” at www.mdmbrazil.com/br/en geared to the manufacturing and design of medical equipment will be held August 26-27, 2014 in Sao Paulo Brazil.
For more information, go to www.buyusa.gov/Brazil or contact U.S Commercial Service Industry Specialist Jefferson Oliveira at Jefferson.oliveira@trade.gov.