Translational Medicine Portugal: Driving Collaborative Innovations in Healthcare

Spotlight on Translational Medicine in Portugal

Translational medicine Portugal has gained international attention through the EATRIS (European Infrastructure for Translational Medicine) Spotlight program, coordinated by Infarmed from May to December 2025. This initiative, themed “Bridging gaps in healthcare: developing solutions across the lifespan,” featured eight events across the North, Center, and South regions, partnering with 17 national institutions and involving 932 participants—593 in-person and 339 remotely. Key focus areas included biobanks, medical devices, digital health and artificial intelligence, advanced therapies, preclinical and clinical research, and decentralized clinical trials. The program’s close spotlighted Portugal’s achievements in translational medicine Portugal, while charting paths to broader strategic opportunities, with leadership passing to the Czech Republic next.

Fostering Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships

The program’s core impact stemmed from multi-stakeholder collaboration, tackling barriers between research and clinical practice while advancing regulatory alignment. Helena Baião, coordinator of Infarmed’s Regulatory and Scientific Advisory Office, highlighted how events sparked innovative ideas to speed up translation from lab to patient, stressing regulations and best practices. This built stronger dialogue among researchers, patients, healthcare professionals, academia, industry, and patient groups, boosting Portugal’s profile in the EATRIS network—joined in 2019 for access to over 150 excellence centers in early-stage medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, and advanced therapies. Carlos Lima Alves, Infarmed’s vice-president and EATRIS PT alternate governor, emphasized mobilizing scientific, clinical, and tech expertise to meet European goals, creating enduring knowledge and ties for faster patient innovations.

Structured Events and Impact Assessment

The program coordinated regional events co-led by Infarmed and EATRIS Portugal (EATRIS PT), blending stakeholders to boost translational medicine Portugal capabilities. Drawing from Portugal’s 2019 EATRIS integration, events featured interactive sessions on niche topics, supporting preclinical and early clinical work via shared platforms. The final assessment at the Belém Cultural Center pinpointed gains like cross-border ties, early regulations, and digital transfers in life sciences, alongside hurdles such as weak preclinical-clinical-industry links, digital literacy gaps, delayed patient input, data privacy risks, and limited research time for clinicians. Feedback from 932 participants grounded recommendations in real insights and agreement, validating national progress.

Actionable Paths Forward

Key recommendations to maintain the translational medicine momentum in Portugal include bolstering biobanks and the National Biobanks Network (Biobanco-PT), sharing best practices across institutions, and tightening hospital-industry-researcher-patient links. Other focuses: digital literacy for patients and caregivers, regulatory working groups for decentralized trials under the European Clinical Trials Regulation, and deeper European project roles to enhance EATRIS input. Cláudia Faria, EATRIS PT’s scientific director, positioned these as pledges to turn knowledge into health gains, ensuring sustainable, effective care.

The program also has the potential to cut timelines and costs for therapies in advanced treatments and digital tools. For market access perspective, early regulations and decentralized trials could ease paths for innovations, cutting delays from privacy and integration issues. Suggestions for aligned rules and better biobanking aids the development of real-world evidence for Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and fair reimbursements. Ultimately, this cements Portugal’s role in efficient innovation systems, shaping regional HEOR via inclusive models that align research investments with better outcomes and resources.