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A building that has been idle for over three decades in Belo Horizonte will gain new life with Funed. The R$ 10 million project promises to accelerate research, develop biotechnological drugs, and bring innovation closer to the SUS.
A building of the Ezequiel Dias Foundation, Funed, which remained unfinished for over 30 years in Belo Horizonte, will finally be put to use. The structure in Gameleira, in the western region of the capital of Minas Gerais, will be transformed into a biotechnology unit with an estimated investment of around R$ 10 million.
The change opens the way for a project that aims to shorten the distance between research, industrial development, and public health. The idea is to bring together in one place activities focused on the creation of biotechnological drugs and to speed up the arrival of solutions to the Unified Health System.
According to otempo, the new unit will be called the Computational Biotechnology and Prototyping Unit and will occupy precisely the structure whose construction was halted decades ago.
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From abandoned skeleton to Funed’s new bet
The building began construction during the Hélio Garcia government, with the proposal to expand the foundation’s drug production through the gravity production system. However, the idea was left behind.
With the evolution of the pharmaceutical industry, the technology planned for the building became obsolete before completion. The result was a building left idle, without function, for more than three decades.
Now, the government of Minas has decided to recover the structure and give it a purpose linked to the latest in biomedical research. Instead of a forgotten space, the location is expected to become an important piece of Funed’s strategy.
New unit aims to connect research and drug production
The proposal of the Computational Biotechnology and Prototyping Unit is to function as a link between scientific research and the foundation’s industrial area. In practice, the expectation is to bring together platforms focused on the development of innovative drugs in the same environment.
The main objective is to accelerate the transformation of research into products intended for the SUS. This means bringing to the practical phase more quickly what is born in laboratories and expanding the institution’s capacity to develop strategic solutions for public health.
The president of Funed, Felipe Attiê, stated that part of the projects already underway in other areas of the foundation will be concentrated in the new space. In addition, the unit is expected to receive new initiatives, of high complexity and greater added value.
Investment of R$ 10 million and expected start in the second semester
The estimated investment for the recovery and adaptation of the building is around R$ 10 million. The amount reflects the Minas Gerais government’s commitment to a space that was inactive and is now seen as an asset for research and innovation.
According to Attiê, the expectation is that the unit will begin operations at the end of the second semester this year. The announcement does not detail all stages of the construction or the timelines for each phase, but the plan already sets the property’s revival in motion.
For Funed, transforming the structure should enhance the ability to identify, develop, and incorporate innovative products more quickly. It is an attempt to repurpose a building marked by interruption and, at the same time, reinforce the institution’s role in scientific advancement in Minas.
What changes for public health in Minas
By concentrating research, development, and prototyping in a single space, Funed aims to gain speed in areas that typically depend on long and complex stages. The expectation is that this will help the institution better respond to demands related to SUS and projects considered strategic.
The decision also carries symbolic weight: a building abandoned for more than 30 years ceases to represent a halted project and becomes a site for applied science. In Belo Horizonte, the change puts Gameleira back on the map of a project aimed at innovation, production, and public impact.
If the forecast is met, the new unit should mark an important turning point for Funed and the use of the old structure. Follow the next updates and share in the comments what you think about this transformation in Minas.
