Health - Sectors - InvestPorto

The strong dynamism of Porto’s health sector ecosystem in recent years has resulted in a notable increase of its competitiveness and exports.

Companies located in the Northern Region and Porto are internationally recognized for their ability to research, develop and manufacture a wide range of high-quality products and services, with high flexibility. From pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and medical devices to healthcare services or health and wellness tourism.

Vibrant and Innovative Research & Development Ecosystem

R&D activities in the city are characterized by the presence of several world-class institutions and scientists, in areas such as neurosciences, cancer, immunology, regenerative medicine and nanomedicine.

The Health Research and Innovation Institute (i3S) of the University of Porto is the largest of its kind in Portugal and has won many international innovation awards.

The Catholic University of Porto hosts the Centre of Biotechnology and Fine Chemistry (CBFQ), a State Associated Laboratory, has established a new bioengineering research centre which will become a European Biotech Hub.

Grounded on a high-quality higher education system, responsible for training hundreds of qualified professionals year after year, in areas such as medicine, nursing, therapy and rehabilitation, diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, biomedical sciences, pharmaceutical sciences, among others.

The University of Porto has two leading schools – the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Pharmacy. The university is part of the most prestigious worldwide R&D networks in the fields of biotechnology and healthcare as a result of its joint programmes with MIT, University of Texas at Austin, Carnegie Mellon University and Harvard Medical School.

Porto’s macro-region1 has the largest number of graduates in Portugal in the field of Health and Life Sciences: more than 8,100 students per year finish advanced studies.

The University of Porto is the largest scientific producer in Portugal in health and biomedical sciences, according to 2017 CWTS Leiden Ranking.

1Northern Region plus a part of the Center Region (comprising Aveiro, Coimbra and Viseu districts)

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High Quality Health System

Porto has a high-quality healthcare system, with excellent professionals, modern equipment and a growing number of awards and international accreditations.

The two hospitals of the University of Porto - C.H. Porto and C.H. São João - are recognized as leading facilities in the country.

The Portuguese offer in the healthcare area also stands out due to its competitive costs.

Other advantages such as the geographical location of Portugal, the climate and the culture and leisure options, make Porto an ideal destination for foreigners seeking high-quality healthcare services for health and wellness tourism.

The high quality of local R&D institutions and hospitals make Porto a competitive localization for projects in specialized scientific, technological and analytical services, as well as an attractive destination to conduct clinical trials.

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Available Funding and Incentives

R&D+I projects can benefit from Portugal 2020 financial incentives and are also eligible for tax incentives.

• The tax benefits granted by "SIFIDE II” provide support to R&D activities related to the creation or improvement of a product, process, program or equipment that represents a substantial improvement of existing techniques. It allows to recover up to 82.5% of investments in R&D activities that did not benefit from any State grant.