UK MedTech companies offered a helping hand to enter South American market
Match-making mission will partner UK and Brazilian firms in one of world\'s biggest healthcare markets
Healthcare companies in the UK are being urged to make the most of a new opportunity to partner with Brazilian firms in an upcoming trade mission.
Led by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and Medilink UK, the initiative will see healthcare companies given the opportunity to overcome many of the barriers to market entry in Brazil, including regulation, red tape and import tariffs by entering into partnership agreements with firms in the South American country.
The business match-making mission, which will take place in Sao Paulo from 15-19 October, will see companies look to secure agreements around joint ventures, contract manufacturing, technology licensing, reciprocal distribution and collaborative research and development.
Brazilian companies are being identified by ABIMO, the largest medical device trade association in South America. The move follows on from a Memorandum of Understanding ,which was signed between Medilink UK and ABIMO in 2011.
Carolina Costa, UKTI’s life sciences sector manager for Brazil, said: “This trade mission, which is the first of kind, has a real focus on collaboration as a route to market, which makes it an ideal opportunity for UK companies looking to explore new and sustainable market entry strategies with Brazil.”
Paula Portugal, export manager for ABIMO, added: “Brazil is a growing market with a large developing healthcare manufacturing industry and massive potential for investments in R&D. This mission provides a great platform for our members to engage in collaborative partnerships with the UK for technology transfer, collaborative R&D and joint ventures.”
The economy of Brazil is the world’s sixth largest by nominal GDP and is expected to become the fifth by the end of 2012, overtaking that of France.
With the second largest economy in the western hemisphere, Brazil also has the largest healthcare market in Latin America. Medical equipment, hospitals and diagnostics products finished 2011 with a growth of 19% on the previous year, reaching revenues of $7.8billion.
For more details, email p.wheeer@medilink.co.uk.