UK healthcare companies are being urged to make the most of a unique opportunity to partner with Brazilian companies in an upcoming trade mission.
The trade mission, led by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and Medilink UK, will see healthcare companies given the opportunity to overcome many of the well-known barriers to market entry in Brazil, including regulation, excessive bureaucracy and import tariffs, by entering partnership agreements with Brazilian companies.
The business match-making mission, which will take place in Sao Paulo from 15 – 19 October, will see UK and Brazilian 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. This trade mission 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, said: “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 has the largest healthcare market in Latin America. Medical equipment, hospitals and diagnostics products finished 2011 with a growth of 19 per cent on the previous year, reaching revenues of US$7.8billion.
Companies interested in being part of the Brazil trade mission should click here or email Peter Wheeler, senior international co-ordinator at Medilink, at p.wheeer@medilink.co.uk.