Webinar ‘Opportunities on the Brazilian MedTech market’
Brazil has a well-developed healthcare system with state-of-the-art hospitals and clinics that purchase the most advanced medical technology. This offers opportunities for foreign suppliers. That is why FIT is organizing a webinar on Tuesday afternoon, December 12, in collaboration with MEDVIA and flanders.bio, about the opportunities in the Brazilian MedTech market. You will learn more about the Brazilian health market, the opportunities and challenges for foreign suppliers, the import regulations and registration procedure.
Programme
For this webinar we collaborate with Brazilian sector federations and experts. Two Belgian companies from the MedTech sector that are already successfully doing business in Brazil will also provide practical testimonials: Materialize, which has its own branch in Brazil, and Orfit, which serves the Brazilian market through an importer/distributor. The full programme can be found as an attachment here.
This information session in English will take place on Tuesday, December 12 from 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM CET. Participation is free.
Who can participate: Branches of companies and organizations in the Flemish Region.
Why this webinar?
Brazil is a potentially interesting and important market for foreign suppliers of medical technology and solutions. The country has an advanced healthcare system with numerous state-of-the-art private and public hospitals and clinics, especially in major cities. Telemedicine is also on the rise; in 2022, 1/3 of doctors used it, including in rural areas. The country is a major importer of medical equipment because much of the advanced technology is not yet produced locally. Hence the interest in innovative digital health and medtech solutions from abroad. The high quality reputation of European countries plays to our advantage.
What does the health sector look like?
Public health services in Brazil are free for all residents. Several public hospitals provide excellent health services, such as the "Hospital das Clínicas", one of the largest hospitals in the world, the "Sarah Kubitscheck" network, present in several cities in Brazil or the "Pérola Byington" breast cancer hospital in Sao Paulo. There is also the famous Brazilian National Cancer Institute INCA for cancer prevention and control, as part of the Ministry of Health.
In addition, Brazil has a whole network of private hospitals where patients pay the full cost unless they have private insurance. Such individual health insurance is quite common among the country's middle class, which amounts to about 50 million people. Examples of advanced private hospitals are the "Israëlita Albert Einstein" and "Sírio Libanes" hospitals in Sao Paulo which are among the best in the world, as well as the "Santa Catarina" and "Alemão Oswaldo Cruz" hospitals in Sao Paulo, the "Rede D'Or São Luiz" hospital chain in Rio de Janeiro or the "Moinhos de Vento" hospitals in Porto Alegre. 89% of the healthcare supply is located in Sao Paulo and the south and southeast of Brazil. Because of the very good local offer, Brazilians seek treatment in their own country and do not travel abroad for it.
Import
Brazil imports USD 6.74 billion worth of medical equipment, while its exports amount to barely USD 909 million. The main supplier is the US, followed by China, Germany, Switzerland and Ireland.
The import of medical equipment into Brazil is regulated by ANVISA, which depends on the Ministry of Health. Companies wishing to import equipment must comply with all regulatory standards and requirements set by that agency; the responsibility lies with the importer. As an exporter, you can also have the registration done by specialized Brazilian consultancy companies, which allows you to maintain control over the registration process and speed up the procedure in certain cases. Certain technologies used in the medical sector may not be covered by the Anvisa Regulation, but this must be considered on a case-by-case basis.