Health industry

Portugal, with its highly trained and skilled workforce, guarantees the progression of the health value chain, encompassing research and development, production, and support services.

Indeed, Portugal has a strong R&D and innovation ecosystem, including world-class research institutions, universities and innovation centers. This ecosystem provides a fertile ground for the development and production of new technologies and products in the Health industry.

Portugal is equipped with award-winning R&D institutions in health-related subjects. Champalimaud Foundation¹ performs world-leading fundamental and translational research on the fields of neuroscience, physiology and cancer. i3S² is also known internationally for its projects on the most relevant health challenges society faces today (e.g., aging, infectious diseases, regenerative medicine).

The NHS in Portugal is also a very important foundation of the life sciences cluster, standing out for the quality of the services provided and for its good performance recognized internationally by the OECD.

¹ Placed 1st in Portugal and 11th in EU-27 in Health research (SCImago Institutions Rankings, 2022).

² Most doctoral graduates.

Pharma & biotech

Portugal has an innovative profile, supported by significant R&D capabilities that allow the country to position itself competitively in the pharma and biotech industry.

The pharmaceutical and biotech industry is highly competitive and presents a strong, flexible and unique capacity to adapt to the needs of worldwide partners. It is a very important industry for the country, and in recent years there has been a considerable increase in exports of pharma & biotech products, reflected in its weight of 80% in the total health industry exports, in 2022.

The pharmaceutical industry represented 6% of national spending on R&D in 2021¹, being the industry that invested the most in this area compared to other manufacturing industries. Additionally, pharma & biotech places 1st as the field with the most patent applications in Portugal, in 2022².

Portugal has presented an average annual growth rate of 2,2% since 2017 in the number of highly qualified labor in the health area³, supporting the positioning of the pharmaceutical industry as one of the country’s most sophisticated activities.

Additionally, Portugal’s healthcare infrastructures are suitable to positioning the country as a test bed and to conduct innovative clinical trials. Multinational pharmaceuticals, such as Roche, Johnson and Johnson and Bayer, have chosen Portugal to conduct clinical studies.

¹ IPCTN (2021)
² European Patent Office
³ Includes bachelor’s, master’s and PhD’s graduates

Medical devices

Portugal is a reference in technological solutions offering excellent conditions to develop state-of-the-art medical devices.

Through complementary industries, Portugal offers suppliers with a solid reputation and extensive experience in the medical devices industry. Specifically, it has a strong specialization in textile, molds, plastic and glass industries (e.g. optics, electronics and precision mechanics).

Products and services based on digital technologies are the key to address the recent trends the industry is facing. Portugal is well-positioned to support medical devices companies in the use of artificial intelligence, robotics and virtual reality, providing the conditions to create, for instance, medical robots, 3D printing for reproduction of prostheses, customized organs and surgical equipment, among other innovative products/services.

With an excellent talent pool and technological developments, Portugal is home to many key international players. Also, the country accommodates conditions to create a vibrant and expanding startup ecosystem (13% above the average number of startups per capita in Europe¹).

¹ IDC (2021)

e-Health

Portugal has a strong digital ecosystem and a first-class R&D infrastructures that leverage the growth of e-Health

Portugal has a fast-growing digital health ecosystem, that is home to several startups that are thriving around the world. SWORD has achieved the unicorn status, among other startups (e.g., iLoF, PeekMed, Adapttech) and large companies (e.g. Glintt Healthcare Solutions) that are also excelling on a fast-growing market.

The emergence of these technology-based startups is leveraging the e-health industry in Portugal, promoting the transition from traditional models to disruptive ones in which digital is the watchword.

In Portugal, e-health companies are mainly focused on telehealth & telemedicine, big data & analytics, eletronic health and medical records, health IT systems and mobile health.

Did you know?

… Retmarker, a Critical Software’s spin off, focused on developing state-of-art Artificial Intelligence solutions in the field of ophthalmology, was recently acquired by METEDA, an Italian provider of innovative and technologically advanced software and hardware solutions for diabetes and nutrition?

… HeartGenetics, a start-up with a rare combination of competences in the areas of molecular biology, genetics, informatics and artificial intelligence, won a Global Health & Pharma’s Healthcare & Pharmaceutical Award 2021, conducted by Global Health Pharma?

… iLoF, a Portuguese start-up developing an intelligent platform that makes it possible to gather large amounts of data to build a library of biological profiles, aiming to accelerate the development of personalized medicines and non-invasive devices for diagnosing oncological diseases, recently received financing from M12 (Microsoft’s venture capital)?