Meeting promoted discussions about the role of the public and private sectors in the advancement of clinical research and is now available on YouTube

On November 8, the Cura Project Institute held the 5th edition of Cura Meetings, which took place during the 25th Brazilian Congress of Clinical Oncology (SBOC), in Rio de Janeiro. The event brought together doctors, health professionals, representatives of the pharmaceutical industry and the government to discuss the topic “Financing clinical research: a coalition of medical and civil society, government and pharmaceutical industry for clinical research.”

The session was a milestone to discuss the need for joint investment and addressed how the joining of efforts between public and private sectors can promote the development of new treatments for cancer. The invited speakers — Renato Porto (Interfarma), Pedro Ivo Sebba Ramalho (Ministry of Health) and Igor Bueno (FINEP) — brought important perspectives on the role of investments in the oncology sector.

According to Dr. Pedro Ivo, speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Health:

“We have some great opportunities to improve this environment and to make us increasingly capable of carrying out projects of this nature, speaking specifically of oncology research, and one of those opportunities is for us to better qualify institutions and at the same time publicize the program and the forms of access to the program, which also includes the collection of donations for the projects.”

We quote the position of Dr. Carlos Barrios who spoke out:

“I think that the country lacks, from a political point of view, strategies that are not only stable, continuous, that have a future and that people know that there will be a call in the month of November, there will be a call in the month of January and that people can prepare themselves, because the instability of the process and the complexity and the lack of disclosure, eventually compromise the access process and the objective that the government has.”

Also according to Dr. Barrios:

“It's a matter of maturation, the process of support that may come from the government I would think more about structuring within the government that was more uniform, clearer to understand, more predictable and obviously continuous and, recognizing the difficulties and the minimum participation that Brazil has in international clinical research, if the government would not have at least part of those resources to allocate funds to support research structures.”

During the debate, Dr. Igor Bueno made his statement:

“If we succeed now, with this predictability, this continuity, we are able to know what is necessary, strategic and what is the focus, I think it is fundamental, and forums like this are fundamental for us to be able to understand the public and the plaintiff. The public sector with its initiatives, FINEP with its public call, operating the fund and, what is the need of the industry, what is the need of the researcher. By talking, we are able to meet what FINEP will support and the demand of the institutions, this is the challenge since we have this predictability and continuity of a stable resource to support research.”

Also during the debate at the 5th Cura Meetings, Dr. Fábio Franke states that:

“The rules (about research) are not yet clear, which is why regulation is urgent, so that we can have clearer rules and attract more research, train more researchers and have proposals. And that is the purpose of Cura, proposals that answer our local questions, studies that demonstrate the reality of our population, that have an enormous and extremely interesting ethnic diversity, that we can make protocols that are more inclusive, that we can use this data and that knowledge for the advancement of the SUS, which will then be able to better define public policy strategies. So, everything is interconnected, but if we don't reduce the bureaucracy of the system and create clear rules, we will always continue to face the same difficulties.”

In his participation during the debate, Dr. Renato Porto said that:

“Regarding regulations, Brazil had no legal framework for clinical research, and now we do. We have difficulty regulating, in fact there are some situations, and speaking in a very synthetic way, we still have a cultural perception of what clinical research and scientific testing are very poor in the country and maybe that's a bit of the fact that we haven't done research over the past few years, so we need to start at some point and start quickly.”

The Cura Project Institute thanks the moderator Dr. Heloisa Magda Resende, President of the institution's Scientific Committee, and the debaters Dr. Carlos Barrios and Dr. Fabio Franke, who enriched the discussions with their experiences. Fernanda Schwyter, president of the Cura Project Institute, highlighted the relevance of this event as an essential space for exchange and collaboration.

The 5th Cura Meetings reinforced the commitment to expand access to science and innovation in Brazil, promoting opportunities for new research to become feasible. The full content of the event is now available on YouTube for those who wish to delve into the discussions and reflect on the future of oncology in the country.

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Do you want to watch the full debates? Access the full event on YouTube

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmnKpwDIVZQ

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Instituto Proyecto Cura is present at the 25th SBOC Congress with emphasis on advocacy in oncology

On November 7th, Fernanda Schwyter, president of the Cura Project Institute, participated as a speaker at the 25th Congress of the Brazilian Society of Clinical Oncology (SBOC), in the session “The relevance of advocacy actions in oncology: access & clinical research”. During her presentation, Fernanda highlighted the importance of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in raising society's awareness of the benefits of clinical research and its impact on access to innovative treatments.

The event also included a moment of celebration, during which Fernanda met with members of the Scientific Committee of the Cura Project Institute, reinforcing partnerships and the exchange of knowledge between specialists in the field.

The Cura Project Institute thanks SBOC for the invitation and the opportunity to contribute to such relevant discussions, reaffirming its commitment to innovation, research, and access to health for all.

About the Cura Project Institute

The Cura Project Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness and funding clinical research in Brazil, working for 10 years to expand access to innovative treatments and combat cancer. More information is available on the Institute's website and on social networks: Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.