Einstein Hospital launches innovation hubs to export health tech

The initiative comes amid chronic underinvestment in innovation. Brazil invests only 1.2% of GDP in R&D, according to the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA), well below the OECD average of 2.7% and far from leaders like Israel, which allocates 6.3%.

“What we’re doing is moving beyond simply consuming foreign technology to creating local solutions focused on our population, improving healthcare here and scaling it abroad,” said Sidney Klajner, president of Einstein, in an interview with Valor.

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The CCI model requires a long-term financial commitment: each partner company must contribute at least R$3 million annually over five years. With plans to launch six centers by the end of 2026—three of which are already nearing contract stage—Einstein expects to raise between R$60 million and R$90 million in the project’s first cycle.

Unlike ad hoc partnerships, CCIs will operate across the entire health value chain, from medical devices and pharmaceuticals to digital tech, inputs, and even cosmetics. Governance will be shared via executive committees, and intellectual property (IP) will be handled flexibly, owned by Einstein, the company, or jointly.

Rodrigo Demarch, Einstein’s executive director of innovation, said the strategy is to shorten the time-to-market. “Partners will find everything under one roof. That accelerates development and makes it significantly cheaper.”

A key pillar of the initiative is the inclusion of Brazilian companies to strengthen the country’s industrial base. Recognizing that local firms don’t have the same financial firepower as multinationals, Einstein is exploring tailored funding options. “We’re working with national banks and innovation agencies to support financing,” Demarch said.

The centers aim to serve as a “spark” for building a domestic high-tech industry. By connecting local companies to this ecosystem, Einstein hopes to reverse the brain drain of researchers who left the country due to lack of infrastructure. Each center is expected to house 10 to 20 dedicated professionals, creating high-value jobs and anchoring intellectual capital in Brazil.

To persuade global R&D headquarters to allocate resources to Brazil, Einstein is leveraging two unique assets: the country’s genetic diversity and the massive trove of health data generated by its network of 11 hospitals (nine of which are public).

“Brazil has a unique condition, an extremely heterogeneous population generating essential data for technological development,” said Demarch.

Klajner emphasized that the goal is to create solutions for the “larger population,” with applications in both private healthcare and the public Unified Health System (SUS).

“There are parts of Brazil that mirror other regions of the world. What we develop here for our diverse population will have global relevance and scale,” Klajner noted.

The ecosystem will gain a physical headquarters in the second half of 2026 with the launch of Vila Einstein in Morumbi, São Paulo. One of the buildings will be dedicated exclusively to innovation, allowing R&D teams from partner companies to work side by side with Einstein’s clinicians and mentors. The ecosystem has already accelerated more than 150 startups over the past eight years.

Klajner said success will be measured not only by financial returns but also by improvements in public health. “Just as important as the economic return is the impact on population health: how these innovations will lead to better diagnoses, treatments, and adoption by SUS,” he said.

Among several technological fronts, including genomics and cell therapy, artificial intelligence is the most promising for short-term impact. “AI initiatives are likely to deliver tangible results faster,” said Demarch.

Klajner added that joining the global “innovation club” puts both Einstein and Brazil on the map for solutions tailored to developing countries, solutions that also have strong commercial appeal.