Health Chain: Innovate to care

14:01 14 de November de 2022 Por Daniel Oiticica

The health sector in Ceará has been developing with a strong vocation for innovation and research. Fiocruz Ceará, one of the most respected health institutions in the world, has led this development, attracting international attention. The Pasteur Institute, from France, specialized in studying the biology of microorganisms, diseases and vaccines, will start cooperating with Fiocruz to accelerate the development of research and inputs for the treatment of chronic-degenerative diseases (including cancer and multiple sclerosis). Ceará has also been working towards the conception, implementation, and stimulation of Health Innovation Districts that combine services, research, and technology development, taking advantage of the human capital and the existing university and hospital infrastructure.

Ceará has a wide network of more than 200 hospitals, both public and private, such as the Hospital Geral de Fortaleza (HGF), Hospital Dr. Waldemar Alcântara (HGWA), several Regional Hospitals, such as the North Regional Hospital, the Cariri Regional Hospital, the Icó Regional Hospital, the Iguatu Regional Hospital, the Itapipoca Regional Hospital, the Dr. Pontes Neto, the Sertão Central Regional Hospital, the Unimed Regional Hospital and the Vale do Jaguaribe Regional Hospital. In addition, and with more than 40 Emergency Care Units (UPA), Ceará also has many other specialized hospitals, hub hospitals, day hospitals and Dental Specialty Centers (CEO), Regional Polyclinics and Secondary Care Hospitals (District Hospital). Today, all regions of the state have ICUs.

Added to this, the region of Ceará has more than 12,000 existing Clinical/Surgical beds, more than 2,500 beds for Obstetrics, more than 2,700 Pediatric beds and more than 4,000 beds distributed in Other Specialties, Day and Complementary Hospitals. In addition, there are almost 100,000 pieces of equipment subdivided into Audiology, Diagnostic Imaging, Dentistry, Life Maintenance, Graphic Methods, Optical Methods, Infrastructure, and Other Equipment. This shows ample opportunity for manufacturing and supply of materials, healthcare equipment, and service activities.

The last few years have been very challenging in healthcare, and work has been intense in all regions of the state. Today, the public network is more decentralized, it used to have 3 areas and now has 18 areas with Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds. It is also wider, with the acquisition of four new hospitals and the inauguration of the Regional Hospital of Vale do Jaguaribe. And to improve services even more, the Government of Ceará has increased from 5% to 15% the ICMS resources destined to the municipalities that meet the quality criteria, which ensures better health for ever more people from Ceará.

Health Innovation Districts

Over the last few years, with the aim of materializing the increase in the health sector, the Government of Ceará has been working towards the design, implementation and promotion of two Health Innovation Districts, one located in the city of Fortaleza and the other in the municipality of Eusebio. In the capital of Ceará, Fortaleza, the district of Porangabussu focuses on the Service Chain, Life Sciences and Development of Medium Technologies.

This Health Innovation District is home to major reference establishments in the city, such as the Walter Cantídio University Hospital, the Maternity School, the Ceará Hematology and Hemotherapy Center (HEMOCE), the Ceará Cancer Institute (ICC), the São José Infectious Diseases Hospital (HSJ), the Institute of Medical Sciences (ICM), the Federal University of Ceará (UFC) with courses in Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing and Physiotherapy, the Center for Research and Development of Medicines (NPDM) and the largest regional health center in the region serving 16 medical specialties (Posto Anastácio Magalhães).

In the municipality of Eusébio, the Health Innovation District focuses on the Health Industry in the areas of research, development and innovation, including advanced research. Located in the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza, the hub is anchored by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) and one of the largest vaccine manufacturers in Brazil, the Institute of Technology in Immuno-biologicals (Bio-Manguinhos). In this hub, companies that have synergy with Fiocruz and that integrate the R&D area of this segment will be able to be part of this great opportunity to settle in the District.

“Here we have the technological base, researchers, specialized labor. There is a differential in logistics, with ports capable of transporting goods and airports, which are essential” says Carlile Lavor, General Coordinator of Fiocruz Ceará.

Quixeramobim on the path of investors in the health sector
The region located next to the urban area of ​​the municipality of Quixeramobim has conditions to house equipment industries, hospital furniture, prostheses and orthotics, personal protective equipment, among others. The city already has the Hospital Regional do Sertão Central (HRSC). It will soon receive a campus of the State University of Ceará (Uece), with the creation of the Central Faculty of Health Sciences of Sertão (FACISC) with undergraduate courses in Medicine and Nursing,

In addition, the region is located in the Sertão Central do Ceará and is neighbor to the municipality of Quixadá, where there is a large university campus, with a State and Federal higher education institute with national recognition in the area of ​​Information Technology (IT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The students who graduate from the Quixadá campus are considered to be some of the most experienced professionals in the IT and AI field in Brazil.

Strategic partners
Today, Ceará has great partners that are references in the Health Industry, producing high quality medicines, products for dentistry and ophthalmology, products for cleaning, beauty and personal hygiene. Also, Ceará has one of the largest manufacturers of small-volume saline and large-volume parenteral solutions in Brazil. Ceará also has a set of companies focused on diagnostic medicine laboratories and a network of partners for Health Plan activities.

In the educational area, the health sector is the segment with the greatest infrastructure for training human capital in Ceará. It has more than 700 Technical Courses, more than 150 undergraduate courses, with master’s and doctoral courses and more than 150 Research Groups.

One of Ceará’s goals is to attain Brazilian leadership in personal hygiene, cosmetic and perfumery products developed in an innovative and sustainable way, with an integrated biopharmaceutical, pharma-chemical and pharmaceutical hub.

Ceará 2050: Economy and Innovation in Health

“Health services are at the base of social demands, demanding urgency and quality standards. The Economy and Innovation in Health Program is based on this principle to propose a transformation in the health ecosystem of Ceará and position the state among the great centers of reference in Brazil and in the world”. Based on this premise, Ceará 2050, Ceará’s Long-Term Strategic Development Plan establishes a series of actions to enhance Ceará’s health ecosystem, organized in order to guide a model of sustainable, shared development, based on the state vocations.

The program works on six topics related to the Health Innovation Districts, namely: Infrastructure and Urbanism; Economic Development; Health Innovation Equipment; District Governance; Improvement and Expansion Studies. The Health Innovation Districts in Eusébio and Porangabussu, in Fortaleza, will be used as starting points for the program.

All these actions involve the need for investments, which represents a great opportunity for investors interested in expanding their business in Ceará. In this sense, we highlight:

-Draft urban, mobility infrastructure, and urban operation legislation plans for the health innovation districts of Eusébio and Porangabussu.

Developing a plan to attract real estate, residential and commercial enterprises to the district of Eusébio.

-Develop the project and implement the following facilities: Center for Technological Development and Innovation (PDI and Incubation); Intelligence Center; School of Citizenship (Porangabussu); Districts Portal; Digital Health Post (model).

-Implement and operate the management of the Intelligence Center and the Center for Technological Development and Innovation. Expansion of PD&I investments in themes such as RES, Telehealth, e-Health and Assistive Technologies in Ceará.

-Conduct a study for the implementation of a centralized health logistics operator with global reach in bids, to regionalize pharmaceutical assistance for the distribution of medicines and inputs and improve supply chain management in state health units.

See here, on page 162, all the actions of the Health Economy and Innovation Plan.

Multimedia
Live: Cibele Gaspar, Master in Administration and Strategic Management and director of Nexxi Assessoria Financeira, and Doctor Carlile Lavor, general coordinator of Fiocruz Ceará

Podcast: Cibele Gaspar, master’s in administration and Strategic Management and director of Nexxi Assessoria Financeira