Brazil steps closer to reagents self-reliance
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Brazilian efforts to develop low-cost diagnostic reagents took a major step forward yesterday, with the approval of further funding for the R$106m (US$55m) centre that will house the country's largest production facility. The national development bank (BNDES) has committed R$30m to building the "integrated centre for prototypes, biopharmaceuticals and reagents" (CIPBR), which is scheduled to come into operation in 2009, as part of the Fiocruz foundation's Biomanguinhos biologics R&D division.