CORFO Visits the BMRC: A Chance to Strengthen Biomedical Innovation in Chile

The Clinical Molecular Biomedicine Technology Consortium (BMRC) recently received a visit from Director of CORFO's Technological Capabilities Management for Programs and Consortia, Macarena Aljaro, accompanied by executives Rosana Rodríguez, Claudia Saavedra, and Paolo Garcés. The meeting was marked by dialogue, collaboration, and joint projections toward a more innovative future in healthcare.

During the meeting, the BMRC team presented Project P7 "Scaling Up Biological Products Under Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)," its progress, and the challenges of one of its main strategic initiatives, focused on strengthening national technological capabilities in biomedicine. This proposal look for new collaboration opportunities between academia, public sector, and industry, with a cross-cutting approach that allows to develop concrete solutions to current and future healthcare challenges.



The visit by CORFO management represents a key milestone in strengthening ties between these institutions leading applied scientific research and the organizations that promote the country's productive development. In this sense, the BMRC deeply valued the chance for discussion and feedback generated along the event, which enabled for the alignment of strategic targets and exploration of new possibilities for coordination between scientific community and national tech ecosystem.

"This visit confirm CORFO's commitment with the development of applied science in Chile, and for us, this is a great opportunity to show how BMRC are advancing toward biomedicine with a real impact on people's health," said Rebeca Ibacache, General Manager of BMRC.

One of the main topics of the meeting was to highlight the role of initiatives such as the BMRC, the Millennium Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, among others, as a space for innovation and technology transfer in the biomedical field. A high-level scientific infrastructure is planned, with platforms for production, validation, and scaling of health technologies, such as vaccines, immunotherapies, and diagnostic tools. All of this is framed within a collaborative model that connects universities, research centers, hospitals, private companies, and public agencies nationwide.

Dr. Pablo González, principal investigator at the IMII and professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, noted:

“Public-private partnerships are essential to generating innovation with real impact. With the P7 Project, we are taking concrete steps to transform scientific capabilities into solutions that effectively reach people.”

For his part, Dr. Alexis Kalergis, director of the IMII and leader of the BMRC 3.0 project, stated:

“We are building a cutting-edge scientific infrastructure that will allow us to scale biomedical developments in Chile. This is a commitment to strengthening the country's technological autonomy, especially in strategic areas such as vaccines and immunotherapies.”

The BMRC team especially expressed its gratitude for CORFO's interest and commitment to supporting these initiatives, which help foster a robust science, technology, and innovation ecosystem in Chile. The visit was also an opportunity to exchange views on the future of technology consortia and their role in developing strategic national capabilities.

With conviction and enthusiasm, BMRC will continue working to position Chile as a regional leader in biomedicine, promoting collaborative researching, technological development, and innovation as key drivers for improving people's health and quality of life.

Let's continue moving forward together toward an innovative and healthy future for all!