⇤ OECD Survey on the STI policy responses to Covid-19

 

Brazil


Updated on: 2020-04-03

Response
Q1A. What arrangements, if any, do you have in place to ensure scientific advice informs national policy and decision making in relation to Covid-19? "Rede Vírus-MCTIC - Among the initiatives the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communication has carried out to support the fight against Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19), is the creation of an Experts Committee Rede Vírus-MCTIC (Virus-MCTIC Network) on Mar 11th 2020. The idea of creating this Network arose from a meeting held in early February 2020, with the aim of promoting a technical discussion of how science can help Brazil in tackling the problem of emerging viruses, especially the coronavirus. Scientists specialized in the area and representatives from the Ministry of Health participated in the debate. The Virus-MCTIC Network is already working to assist the Government in initial RD&I actions to face this pandemic, as well as in the definition of research priorities related to COVID-19.

The Network plans to use MCTIC Research Units as CERTIFIERS for local producers so that they can manufacture materials to combat COVID-19. These Research Units are spread across Brazil and can respect the distinct nature of Brazilian regions, enabling the use of local sanitizing products, such as alcohol, detergents, masks, moist towels, etc."

The Ministry of Health of Brazil is also monitoring the situation and establishing protocols and guidelines to deal with the pandemic. The Ministry of Health is in frequent contact with the World Health Organization and with local officials, politicians, medical personal and researchers in order to have the best information available to guide national policy.
Q1B. In what ways, if any, are you coordinating on Covid-19 STI responses at international level? The Brazilian Minister of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications, Marcos Pontes, is representing Brazil in a working group established between high level officials such as Ministers and Chief Scientific Advisers from the following countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal and USA. The objective of this working group is to share research results and information on how science can assist in the decisions and measures that governments are taking to face the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Minister Pontes is also actively participating at the consulting group on scientific responses to CV19 established by UNESCO.
And of course the Brazilian Delegation, with the assistance of the Brazilian scientific community, has been actively involved in the debate on public policies informed by science in the context of WHO.
Q2.Do you have dedicated arrangements in place for communicating science advice and for refuting misleading information to the public on Covid-19? The Minister of Health of Brazil has organized meetings with municipal authorities as well as State Governors in order to coordinate response and to provide the best information to the public. Several of these meetings have been led at Presidential level. The Minister Chief of Staff of the Presidency (« Casa Civil ») has also been charged by the President with coordinating a whole-of-government response, involving with all the relevant Ministries, including those responsible for Health, Science and Technology, Economy and social services (« Cidadania »). There are regular meetings with the press to inform the public of the latest developments of the pandemic in Brazil and the official response. The Ministry of Health has published a webpage to bring information to the public (http://coronavirus.saude.gov.br/) and has developed an app (CoronavirusSUS available for IOS and Android systems) which conveys information and advices citizens to take the correct actions (such as searching the closest health center) based on self-evaluation of their health conditions.

Fiocruz, a state-owned foundation and laboratory that engages in research and development of biotechnology products, has launched the COVID-19 Information for Researchers web page in order to grant access for researchers to scientific and technical publications, situational maps and epidemiological reports (https://portal.fiocruz.br/coronavirus-20...). There is also a podcast to provide information for the general public - https://open.spotify.com/show/4JDOjmiNfS....
Q3. What new STI policy measures, if any, is your country taking to respond specifically to the Covid-19 crisis? The Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications of Brazil (MCTIC) established an advisory committee and strategic plan to provide coordinated and quick responses to emerging viruses. This "Virus-MCTIC Network" coordinates the efforts of research laboratories with a view to identifying complementarities of infrastructure and activities in the ongoing research on Covid-19, influenza and others. The objectives of the network are the integration of scientific research and development efforts in the area of emerging viruses; definition of research priorities; coordination of ongoing R,D&I initiatives related to emerging viruses; and development of technologies to assist the country in facing those challenges. Researchers and representatives of MCTIC, the Ministry of Health and development agencies participate in the initiative.

As an example, within this network, the National Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) is already employing tools like computational biology and AI to evaluate the effectiveness of about 2 thousand existing drugs against Covid-19. Computational data tests use atomic structure data and the behavior of Covid-19 proteins to examine the interaction of molecules of available medications with these target proteins, and to pre-select those that show promise in interfering with the infection. Selected molecules will then be tested in vitro to verify its effectiveness in eliminating the virus, which will allow the new use of already available medications.

The emergency release of R$ 3.4 billion (around USD 700 million) to be used in initiatives to fight the pandemic has recently been approved by the Federal government. The funds will be allocated to the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Defense; and Ministry of Citizenship.From that amount, R$ 100 million (around USD 20 million) will be directed to STI measures, from the National Scientific and Technological Development Fund (FNDCT), to be applied in Research Networks, National Institutes of Science and Technology (INCT) and public calls via the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and the Funding for Studies and Projects Agency (Finep)

The funds will be used for emergency support of projects (grants) within the scope of the priorities defined by the Virus-MCTIC Network, including: - Development of diagnostic kits; - Development of vaccines; - Use of advanced technologies for rapid selection of possible drugs; - Large-scale sequencing and monitoring of mutations in SARS-Cov 2 (COVID-19) samples; - Structuring a virus sample bank for scientific studies to understand the disease.

The State National Postal Service Company (Correios) is acting as the logistics partner for the Virus-MCTIC Network, being responsible for collecting viral material (new coronavirus and influenza) from selected laboratories and delivering them to other labs (in-kind contribution). These are being used in studies on contagion, proliferation of viruses and vaccines for diseases. Scientists working on the matter now have priority in receiving and sending research material, since time is crucial for the effectiveness of research with COVID-19.

A research call for projects has already been launched on the total of R$ 50 million (around USD 10 million) by CNPq. The call is aimed at projects on diagnosis, vaccines, clinical trials and other research related to the virus. Overall priority is given to the development of a) medications and respective pre-clinical and clinical tests; b) vaccines and respective pre-clinical and clinical tests; c) innovation for the production in large scale of ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE) and their related systems; Research, development and innovation in diagnostic tests are also a priority; monitoring and sequencing the virus genome circulating in the country; telemedicine tools.

The Ministry of Health has authorized the use of telemedicine to care for patients with coronavirus (March 23rd, 2020). To this end, the MCTIC will carry out: I - direct contracting of projects, studies, technologies and innovations; II - public call (s) for contracting projects, studies, technologies and innovations; and III - coordination between organizations in the science, technology, innovation and communications system.

MCTIC has also launched 7 orders for technology acquisition on the total amount of R$ 50 million (around USD 10 million). They include development of products for genetic sequencing, clinical trials protocol, the application of AI on inhibiting virus replication, development of test kits and vaccines as well as social projects.

Another initiative by MCTIC is the launch of the platform IdearuMCTIC (www.mctic.gov.br), aimed at connecting ideas and evaluating the maturity of technological solutions related to the challenges imposed by the pandemic.

Besides that, funding State agencies such as FAPESP (State of São Paulo), Fundação Araucária (State of Paraná) and FAPERJ (State of Rio de Janeiro), as well as funding federal agencies such as CAPES (Ministry of Education), are releasing funds for research on tackling the challenges caused by the pandemic, such as the development of tests or vaccines, as well as the genomic sequencing of the virus. Other entities like EMBRAPII (Brazilian Industrial Research and Innovation Company), SEBRAE (Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Agency), and Porto Digital (Science park located at the State of Pernambuco) are taking efforts for innovative solutions to be developed, such as the fabrication of ventilators and of tests for diagnosis of COVID-19.

The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) launched a call for research proposals on COVID-19 within the time limit of 24 months, with a view to understanding the virus` epidemiological characteristics, developing tests and therapies, conducting research on clinical procedures, identifying and evaluating innate immune responses and issues related to the social behavior of the affected population. The total amount of the research call is R$ 10 million (around USD 2 million).

FAPESP and FINEP, under the PIPE/PAPPE Grant Program, launched a call for research projects on the development of technologies for products, services and processes to fight Covid-19. The research call will allow that participants from previous phases of the Grant program (Phase 1 or Phase 2) to commercialize emergency products or services.

Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Agency (SEBRAE) will assign R$ 2 million (around USD 400 thousand) to the development of technological solutions by startups and other small and medium-sized enterprises with a view to help the Brazil face Covid-19. The funds will add up to R$ 4 million (around USD 800 thousand) from the Brazilian Industrial Research and Innovation Company (EMBRAPII) and contributions by participating companies and accredited research and innovation centers. Joint resources are expected to reach the total of R$ 10 million (around USD 2 million). The resources may be used for software development, system devices, hardware, medical parts and equipment, and others.

EMBRAPII has also approved R$ 2.3 million (USD 900 thousand) to the development of mechanical ventilators, that provides oxygen and removes carbon dioxide directly from the blood.

The National Service for Industrial Training (SENAI), through the "Innovation Call for Industry", will select projects that help prevent, diagnose and treat Covid-19. It foresees the destination of R$ 10 million (around USD 2 million) for proposals on solutions against problems caused by the virus, with immediate application and results within 40 days, in the areas of consulting, metrology, testing, analysis, research, development and innovation. Examples of these solutions are the manufacture of mechanical respirators and the development of rapid tests for the detection the disease.

The National Council of State Foundations of Research Support (CONFAP) released a proposal for Brazilian institutions to join the so-called "Development of therapy and diagnosis for fighting coronavirus infections" launched by `Innovative Medicines Initiative`, in cooperation with European Union and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). Its objective is to identify new therapeutic agents, early diagnostic systems, and reliable data related to Covid-19. Brazilian partners can participate in a co-financing scheme. The European side plans to disburse EUR 45 million.

The University of São Paulo (USP) is conducting researches for vaccine development with a quick response against the virus. The work takes advantage of results from previous studies on other types of coronaviruses, which, hopefully, can help in the case of Covid-19. Brazilian research is comparatively safer, as it is based on the creation of a particle similar to coronavirus, the VLP (virus-like particle), equivalent to a hollow virus, without the genetic material and therefore without the transmissibility of the disease.

The Covid Challenge 19 is an initiative by the Public Persecutor`s Office of the State of Pernambuco (MPPE), the State Health Secretariat of Pernambuco (SES-PE) and Porto Digital. The MPPE and SES-PE offer R$ 1.3 million for innovative and high-impact solutions that can be adopted in a short term, with a view to fighting the virus. The challenge already includes the submission of 543 ideas on 5 areas: a) monitoring the risk groups; b) information flow management; c) monitoring social isolation; d) support for health agents; and e) testing and diagnosis.
Q4A. At national level, what mechanisms are you developing or relying upon to bring together different STI actors (researchers, industry, government, health sector, foundations, etc.) to effectively collaborate on responses to Covid-19? Brazil is taking expedient measures to respond to the crises. As early as January, the Ministry of Health created an emergency group to monitor the situation, head by the National Sanitary Surveillance Agency (ANVISA). In February, the Health Ministry organized a meeting with Secretaries of Health from municipalities and state-level in order to coordinate responses to the coming crises, before there were any confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Brazil, and also published the National Contingency Plan for the COVID-19 crises (https://portalarquivos2.saude.gov.br/ima... marco/25/Livreto-Plano-de-Contingencia-5-Corona2020-21 0x297-16mar.pdf), which organizes the actions to be taken during the development of the pandemic in Brazil, describing levels of response and assigning attributions for different actors.

Once the pandemic reached Brazil, a crisis committee, head by the office of the Chief of Staff of the Presidency (Casa Civil) was established in order to discuss measures to be taken on a whole-of-government level. Then, an interministerial committee was created, gathering the highest officials from the Federal Government to meet with the President in order to coordinate policy. The meetings include ministers of Foreign Affairs; Defense; Health; Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications; Economy; and others.
Q4B. At international level, what mechanisms are you developing or relying upon to bring together different STI actors (researchers, industry, government, health sector, foundations, etc.) to effectively collaborate on responses to Covid-19? Fiocruz and the Ministry of Health are developing joint actions with the World Health Organization in order to respond to the crises. Brazilian authorities also take part in meetings with political leaders that are part of multilateral mechanisms such as Prosul (South America) and G20 aimed at coordinating actions.
As mentioned above, (1.B), the Minister of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications is also articulating with foreign counterparts actions to be taken to tackle the pandemic.
Q5. What novel approaches, if any, is your country using to address the coronavirus crisis (e.g. use of machine learning, open science initiatives boosting access and sharing of data and research results, development and use of prediction models, etc.)? Artificial Intelligence, Biocomputing and high performance computing are being applied to develop research and new products. Brazilian infrastructures like CNPEN laboratories and the Santos Dumont and Ogbon Super Computers are part of the Folding@Home project, which donates computing power to run simulations and research.

Using the Santos Dumont supercomputer Brazilian researchers have sequenced 19 genomes from the COVID-19 variations present in Brazil in just 48 hours. It was possible to identify from which countries and regions of the world came the different strains of COVID-19 that reached Brazil.

Also, the call for proposals being launched with the extraordinary credit, mentioned above (Q.3), includes support for projects for large scale sequencing of viruses, use of advanced technologies (eg. AI) for medicine selection and support of clinical trials, support for advanced vaccine development platforms (eg. VLP) & Data Science projects for modeling and planning.
Q6A. What impact on the STI system do you anticipate in the short-, medium- and long-term, and what measures are you implementing to address those? SFor the short term:
- Loss of important human capital - Median age for researchers is typically higher than the general workforce - depending on the severity of the crisis;
- Disruption of ongoing research projects which require physical access to labs, other research facilities or medical facilities;
- Postponement of conferences.
For the medium term:
- Higher public understanding on the importance of R&D;
- Higher reliance and confidence on remote work and collaboration arrangements, both for Research and work in general;
- Higher perception on the importance of access to scientific information and resources (articles, data, etc)
- Better availability of FAIR research data.
- The improvement of coordination among different
agents of the STI ecosystem and development of capacity for quick response to immediate threat.
For the long Term:
- Higher focus on health-related research.
- An increase on the public perception as of the importance to invest in STI.
Q6B. Is support of the STI system part of planned stimulus packages aimed at supporting the economy? Yes. As explained above (Q.3), the Federal Government has released R$ 3.4 billion to tackle the challenges of the pandemic, of which R$ 3 billion will be directed to social benefits. On what concerns STI, R$100 million have already being authorized to be invested in research and innovation.
Other federal economic stimulus packages might also help indirectly the STI system, since they are aimed at provided liquidity to the financial sector (banks) in order to facilitate credit to small and medium enterprises and alleviating tax obligations.
Q7. Is there anything else regarding the STI policy response to Covid-19 in your country you would like to mention? Adding to the public sector effort, private enterprises are also engaged in fighting the pandemic. Big companies like the aircraft manufacture Embraer are adapting plants to the fabrication of mechanical ventilators and its components. Startup companies are also developing new products, like 3D printed ventilators and masks, as well as new test kits. They have also offered services like delivery of donations and geolocalization apps to help with the mapping the geographic distribution of the virus.
The startup Hi Technologies, based in Curitiba, State of Parana, announced the development of a rapid test for Covid-19 detection that provides results in 10 minutes. The large-scale production of the test kit is underway, with delivery of kits in April. The startup is known for the Hilab device, which integrates internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence to perform remote exams by collecting drops of blood in the Hilab (available in pharmacies), that transmits information to the laboratory responsible for analyzing the result, issuing and signing the respective report. Hilab is already capable of testing for HIV, dengue, zika and hepatitis, in addition to measuring cholesterol levels, blood glucose and other issues.
Governments across Brazil are looking to roll out a system developed that uses geolocation tracking to support actions around the lockdowns intended to slow the spread of COVID-19. Brazilian startup InLoco develops the geolocation technology, which is normally used by companies from sectors such as retail, to securely target and engage with users without the need to share personal information. Users are geotracked through a location map that does not use GPS or beacons, which InLoco claims to be 30 times more accurate than GPS. The startup is headquartered at Porto Digital, a technology innovation cluster in the northeastern city of Recife, where the platform has gone live last weekend. Announcing the measures, the mayor of Recife said the city is tracking at least 700.000 smartphones to identify where the lockdown rules are being followed - many Brazilians, particularly those in vulnerable sections of society, have no choice but continue to work despite the risk.
The Governance & New Economy Community (Gonew.co), with the support from the Brazilian Association of Startups (Abstartups), launched the campaign StartupsxCovid19, which seeks to map companies with innovative solutions to face the coronavirus crisis. Among other initiatives, mapping will be used to provide information to entities such as the Ministry of Health.