What AICIB does

AICIB (Agência de Investigação Clínica e Inovação Biomédica) is the Portuguese national agency for clinical research and biomedical innovation, established by Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 27/2018 and domiciled in Porto with a regional office in Lisbon. It operates as a public-sector organization under the Portuguese Framework Program for R&D, linked to FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) and the Ministry of Health, coordinating and supporting clinical and translational research across the country.

AICIB's core offerings revolve around the CAPACITAR+ online learning platform (built on Pantheon infrastructure with Easypay payment integration) and a portfolio of support services: funding opportunity curation (national + Horizon Europe), clinical project management, translational research facilitation (T1 basic-to-clinical and T2 clinical-to-community), center accreditation/certification (ISO 9001:2015, NP 4457:2007, NP ISO 56002, HR Excellence in Research), and stakeholder engagement for researchers, healthcare professionals, patients, and pharmaceutical/medical-device industry partners. The CAPACITAR training series (launched July 2023 with Good Clinical Practice updates; expanded through CAPACITAR 5 in 2025 and CAPACITAR 6 scheduled June 2026) and the CAPACITAR+ platform (launched 2025) deliver both live synchronous sessions and asynchronous certified courses, with major sessions attracting 600+ participants.

AICIB's business model is primarily public funding (government and FCT grants) supplemented by training course fees (free to €380 per program, with certificates, 6-month access). Its customer segments include researchers and healthcare professionals (primary), patients/caregivers, partners/industry, and research structures; key partners are INFARMED, APAH, FCT, APIFARMA, Health Cluster Portugal, ECRIN, and EATRIS. The agency holds no patents, reports no funding rounds or M&A activity, and earns no disclosed revenue from software products or licensing.

Name

AICIB

Legal name

Agência de Investigação Clínica e Inovação Biomédica

Website

https://aicib.pt

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AICIB is Portugal's national government agency for clinical research and biomedical innovation, coordinating funding, training (CAPACITAR+ platform), accreditation, and translational research support for researchers, healthcare professionals, patients, and industry partners across Portugal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Porto

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Public Funding and Government Support: AICIB operates as a public agency supported by government funding from Portuguese institutions including FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) to support, fund, and promote clinical and translational research as well as biomedical innovation.
2. Training Course Fees: Revenue generated from paid training programs on the CAPACITAR+ platform, including certification fees ranging from free to €380 per course.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

AICIB is a Portuguese government-affiliated agency that supports, funds, and promotes clinical and translational research as well as biomedical innovation in Portugal. It operates the CAPACITAR+ online learning platform for clinical research training and provides services including funding opportunity coordination, clinical project management, translational research support, and clinical research center accreditation and certification. The agency connects researchers, healthcare professionals, patients, and industry partners across Portugal's clinical research ecosystem.

Product overview

AICIB (Agência de Investigação Clínica e Inovação Biomédica) is a Portuguese government-affiliated agency for clinical research and biomedical innovation that operates primarily as a service and support organization rather than a software product company. Its main offerings include the CAPACITAR+ online learning platform for clinical research training, the AICIB website portal providing information and access to clinical research services, and various support services including translational research support, clinical project management, funding opportunity coordination, and center accreditation services. The CAPACITAR training initiative provides ongoing professional development for clinical research professionals in Portugal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CAPACITAR+: Online learning platform for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation training programs, offering courses, webinars, and certification for healthcare professionals and researchers.

Products and services

• CAPACITAR+ Online Learning Platform The primary online learning platform for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation (CR&BI) training, providing courses, recorded sessions, assessments, and certificates for professionals, researchers, and stakeholders in clinical research.
• Translational Research Support Support services for translational research (T1: basic to clinical; T2: clinical to community health policy), connecting research institutions and facilitating the 'bench-to-bedside' knowledge transfer process.
• Clinical Project Management Project management services for clinical studies including feasibility studies, multi-center project management, supplier management, contingency planning, clinical operations manuals, communication plans, and project metrics.
• Financing and Funding Opportunities Coordination Connects researchers and health professionals with national and European funding opportunities (Horizon Europe), as well as prizes and awards in health and clinical research.
• Accreditation and Certification Services Qualification services for clinical research centers including quality management systems (ISO 9001:2015, NP 4457:2007), innovation management (NP ISO 56002), HR Excellence in Research, and center competency development programs.
• CAPACITAR Training Programs Series of training and benchmarking actions focused on capacity building, performance improvement, and competitiveness enhancement for clinical research centers in Portugal, including CAPACITAR 5 (Introduction to Clinical Research, 2025) and CAPACITAR 6 (Updates and Trends in Clinical Research, 2026).
• Medical Devices Clinical Investigation Training Training program on structuring Clinical Investigation Plans for medical devices per MDR 2017/745 and ISO 14155:2020, targeting researchers and professionals working with medical device clinical research.
• Industry Partnership and Liaison Services Services promoting strong connections, cooperation, and collaboration with pharmaceutical and medical device industry partners for the promotion, conduct, and execution of quality clinical trials.

Quantifiable outcome

• 600+ participants trained in major CAPACITAR sessions with excellent ratings
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and moderate.

• FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a TecnologiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFCT is Portugal's national science and technology foundation. AICIB works with FCT to support and promote clinical and translational research and biomedical innovation in Portugal. FCT funding supports AICIB's mission and activities.
• INFARMEDcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerINFARMED is the national authority for medicines and health products in Portugal. AICIB collaborates with INFARMED on regulatory matters, clinical trial oversight, and medical device research training programs.
• APAH - Associação Portuguesa de Administradores HospitalarescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAICIB partners with APAH on the Program for the Development of Innovation Support Offices and Funding Capture in Clinical Research & Biomedical Innovation in Health Units, promoting collaboration between healthcare administration and research.
• ECRIN - European Clinical Research Infrastructure NetworkcoreTechnology or IntegrationECRIN is a public, non-profit organisation that links scientific partners and networks across Europe to facilitate multinational clinical research. AICIB participates in ECRIN activities and references their data centre certification.
• EATRIS PortugalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEATRIS is a European research infrastructure for translational medicine. AICIB connects Portuguese research centers (i3S, IPO-Porto, IMM, iBB, and others) through EATRIS Portugal, facilitating international collaboration in biomedical research.
• Health Cluster PortugalmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth Cluster Portugal aims to position Portugal as a competitive player in health research, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of health products and services.
• APIFARMAmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerPortuguese pharmaceutical industry association representing pharmaceutical companies and promoting high ethical and quality standards in the sector.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NIHR - National Institute for Health and Care Research: The UK's largest funder of clinical research, NIHR funds, trains, and supports clinical research professionals and infrastructure. It is the most direct functional analogue to AICIB at a national level — a publicly mandated agency coordinating funding, training, and center capability for clinical research.
• ISCIII - Instituto de Salud Carlos III: Spain's national public research body funding and managing biomedical and health research. ISCIII is closely comparable to AICIB in mandate and Iberian/Iberian-adjacent context, and is explicitly referenced on AICIB's website as a peer resource for clinical research in Spain.
• INSERM: France's national institute dedicated to health and medical research, INSERM funds and coordinates biomedical research across public institutions. It is a direct functional peer of AICIB in the role of national coordinator of clinical and biomedical research, though at significantly larger scale.
• ZonMw: The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development, ZonMw funds health research, promotes knowledge utilization, and supports training programs. It is a direct peer in mandate and in the European clinical research ecosystem alongside AICIB's ECRIN/EATRIS memberships.
• ECRIN - European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network: ECRIN is a public non-profit that links scientific partners and networks across Europe to facilitate multinational clinical research, and is an active partner of AICIB. It operates at the supranational level but performs analogous coordination, training, and data centre certification services to AICIB.
• EATRIS - European Infrastructure for Translational Medicine: EATRIS provides translational medicine research infrastructure across Europe and is an active partner of AICIB through EATRIS Portugal. It is a direct peer in the translational research support and biomedical innovation mandate that AICIB executes nationally.

Regional players

• DCRF - Dutch Clinical Research Foundation: DCRF is a Dutch foundation that facilitates clinical research by coordinating best practices, training, and standards among national partners — directly comparable to AICIB's CAPACITAR training and accreditation role, but operating in the Netherlands rather than Portugal.
• FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia: Portugal's national public agency for science and technology funding, FCT is a core funder and partner of AICIB. It is a regional peer that performs overlapping but broader (all-discipline) research funding, while AICIB focuses on the clinical and biomedical vertical.
• Health Cluster Portugal: Health Cluster Portugal is a private non-profit aiming to position Portugal as a competitive health research, development, and manufacturing player. It is a regional peer and partner of AICIB with overlapping industry-liaison and ecosystem development mandates.
• INFARMED - Autoridade Nacional do Medicamento e Produtos de Saúde: INFARMED is Portugal's national medicines and health products regulator and a core partner of AICIB. It is a regional peer operating in the same national ecosystem, with overlapping regulatory and clinical trial oversight responsibilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aicib-ag%C3%AAncia-de-investiga%C3%A7%C3%A3o-cl%C3%ADnica-e-inova%C3%A7%C3%A3o-biom%C3%A9dica

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about AICIB