Brazil pharma growth faces data protection challenges

Significance

While Brazil’s recent enactment of its Data Protection Law represents a milestone for the domestic data protection culture, it also generated growing concern about data breaches and potential (mis-)use of data. This has not yet affected the development of R&D projects, but this may change if regulatory and institutional challenges are not addressed properly.

Impacts

• Opportunities exist for proposing unified data protocols, interoperable health data transfers regimes and even an 'open health initiative'.
• If arrangements are developed effectively, Brazil can contribute significantly with health data for R&D purposes.
• A vibrant health research ecosystem will not be sustained and expanded without clear regulations on data flows.