University of São Paulo: USP and Ipen launch an innovation space to offer technological solutions in the area of life sciences
The Life Sciences and Decarbonization Hub was launched, an unprecedented partnership between USP and the Institute for Energy and Nuclear Research (Ipen) to foster the development of technological and radical innovations in the health area. The launch ceremony was held in the University Council room, in the Rectory building, in São Paulo.
The differential of the project, articulated by the Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Technology (Cietec), is the connection between public institutes of Science and Technology (ICTs) in the State of São Paulo, startups and industries with the purpose of solving great challenges of society and of the market, by supporting technology-intensive start-ups — the so-called deeptechs . The hub will occupy an area of 20 thousand square meters located in Cidade Universitária Armando de Salles Oliveira, where new health technologies will be developed and tested from January 2023.
Access to multi-user laboratories at USP and at various partners with different types of infrastructure and equipment is another factor that allows the development of new technologies and innovations from start to finish. On another front of action, it is planned, together with regulatory bodies, to speed up the process to validate solutions that require authorizations for pilot productions. Today, 45% of the startups at the USP/Ipen Incubator, managed by Cietec, are in the areas of life sciences and health, which shows the expertise and synergy to develop new solutions in this area.
Among the institutes and companies involved in the creation of the hub are Instituto Butantan, Inova HC, Instituto de Infectologia Emílio Ribas, Merck and L’Oreal, among others. The initiative also has the support of the Government of the State of São Paulo.
Solutions to problems
“Innovation and sustainable development are two fundamental principles of our performance at the head of the Rectory over the next four years. USP, as a teaching and research environment, has as one of its challenges to present solutions to Brazilian social problems and, in this sense, collaboration with all sectors of society is essential. An example of this is this partnership that we are establishing for the creation of the Life Sciences Hub”, highlighted the dean of USP, Carlos Gilberto Carlotti Junior.
“Large companies were born from initiatives by professionals from the USP and Ipen communities, among other renowned ones, in our technology-based incubator. Over 25 years, we have managed to build an environment that is very conducive to the emergence of innovative solutions. When creating the Life Sciences Hub, we thought of offering a new space, where different actors can collaborate together to strengthen the innovation ecosystem”, evaluated the superintendent of Ipen, Wilson Calvo.
The director-president of Cietec, Paula Lima, pointed out that the objective is to deliver innovative solutions to society that stimulate Brazilian socioeconomic development. “One of the lessons we learned from the pandemic was that investing in science saves lives. Covid-19 highlighted the Brazilian dependence on inputs in medicines and health equipment. Based on this learning, we articulated a strategic alliance for the creation and operation of the Life Sciences Hub”, she explained.