Fapesp, a Sao Paulo-based public institution that promotes academic research, will allocate BRL 30 million to startups and researchers who are developing products or services related to the fight against the pandemic, according to information from Folha de S.Paulo newspaper. “The researchers who decoded the coronavirus genome in Brazil were developing a project on another topic. They came up against this possibility and asked for additional resources. The idea is to do that not on a small scale, but on a large one,” said Patricia Ellen, Secretary for Economic Development in the state of Sao Paulo.
We have never needed research as much as we do now. This is the time to accelerate, not to postpone. We need applied research now.
Rodrigo Garcia, SAO PAULO’S VICE GOVERNOR
At first, BRL 10 million will be allocated to research projects that are already underway, focused on understanding, risk reduction, management, and prevention of the virus. Products such as diagnostic kits and ventilators, besides digital technology and artificial intelligence solutions for health services or patient care, will be the focus of the funding.
