Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas (PPGCF) - UNIFAP

What Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas (PPGCF) - UNIFAP does

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas (PPGCF) is a graduate-level academic unit of the Universidade Federal do Amapá (UNIFAP), a federal public university operating under Brazil's Ministry of Education (MEC) in Macapá, Amapá. PPGCF delivers Masters and doctoral training in pharmaceutical sciences, with research lines covering drug development, natural product analysis, and pharmacological studies. The program sits within UNIFAP's broader research and innovation apparatus, particularly the NITT (Núcleo de Inovação e Transferência de Tecnologia), which manages institutional intellectual property, INPI filings, and technology-transfer agreements.

PPGCF and the surrounding UNIFAP innovation infrastructure have produced a small but materially significant IP portfolio: two granted patents in 2023 (the solar-powered Despolpadeira Fotovoltaica de Açaí utility model in March and the urucum-based Solução Corante for Papanicolau cervical cancer screening invention patent in July), three pending patent applications (a diterpene-based larvicidal nanoemulsion, polymeric chlorhexidine nanoparticles, and a Copaifera reticulata-based repellent), and a registered trademark (AgroWiki). The Vitrine Tecnológica operates as a digital platform showcasing registered and in-process technologies available for licensing. NITT also runs PIBITI and PROVIC-IT programs that fund undergraduate and graduate researcher participation in technology-development projects.

The program does not operate a commercial revenue model. It is financed through Brazilian federal allocations — primarily MEC budget via CAPES for graduate education, CNPq for research scholarships and productivity grants (including 23 PIBITI scholarships), and FINEP for innovation funding — with ancillary technology-transfer and licensing activity managed by NITT. The PIBITI stipend is R$700 per month as of 2024. There are no external commercial customers; the program's primary beneficiaries are its own graduate students, faculty researchers, and the broader UNIFAP academic community, with knowledge-transfer spillovers into regional Amazon communities (notably via the photovoltaic açaí depulper) and into national IP and entrepreneurship networks including Rede NAMOR, SEBRAE's Catalisa ICT, and the WIPO Academy.

Name

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas (PPGCF) - UNIFAP

Legal name

Universidade Federal do Amapá

Website

https://www2.unifap.br

Company type

Public

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PPGCF is the graduate pharmaceutical sciences program at UNIFAP (a federal public university in Macapá, Amapá, Brazil), training Masters and doctoral researchers in drug development and natural-product chemistry while managing institutional intellectual property and technology transfer through its NITT innovation office.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Macapá

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Higher Education Funding: Federal university funded primarily by Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC) allocations through CAPES, CNPq, and FINEP for graduate programs and research activities
2. Research Grants and Scholarships: Graduate students receive scholarships from CAPES and CNPq; research projects funded through competitive grant programs
3. Extension Services and Technology Transfer: Revenue generated through technology transfer agreements and intellectual property licensing managed by NITT

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

PPGCF is a graduate-level academic program (Masters and Doctoral) in Pharmaceutical Sciences hosted at the Federal University of Amapá (UNIFAP). The program delivers advanced education and research in drug development, natural product analysis, and pharmacological sciences, complemented by the NITT (Núcleo de Inovação e Transferência de Tecnologia) which manages intellectual property registration with INPI and facilitates technology transfer of patented innovations derived from Amazon biodiversity.

Product overview

UNIFAP's technology portfolio centers on the NITT (Núcleo de Inovação e Transferência de Tecnologia) which manages intellectual property and innovation activities. The institution has developed patented technologies including the Despolpadeira Fotovoltaica de Açaí (utility model patent - 2023) for rural Amazon communities and a Solução Corante à Base de Urucum (invention patent - 2023) for cervical cancer screening. Additional technologies in the portfolio include larvicidal nanoemulsions, polymeric nanoparticles, and repellents. The institution supports innovation through programs like PIBITI (technological initiation scholarships) and PROVIC-IT (voluntary technological initiation), while operating a technology showcase (Vitrine Tecnológica) for transferring protected technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Despolpadeira Fotovoltaica de Açaí (Utility Model Patent)
• Solução Corante à Base de Urucum para Exame Papanicolau
• PPGCF Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences

Quantifiable outcome

• First patent granted in Amapá State (Despolpadeira Fotovoltaica de Açaí, March 2023)
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Organização Mundial da Propriedade Intelectual (OMPI/WIPO)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2019WIPO provides intellectual property training through the WIPO Academy in partnership with INPI. UNIFAP students and researchers access WIPO distance learning courses including DL101P BR General IP Course (75 hours).
• Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial (INPI)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2011NITT operates as INPI's interface for patent and trademark filings. UNIFAP submits all intellectual property applications through INPI, including invention patents, utility models, software registrations, and trademark protections.
• Serviço Brasileiro de Apoio às Micro e Pequenas Empresas (SEBRAE)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSEBRAE partners with NITT through Catalisa ICT program to support innovation-based businesses, crediting NITs and laboratories for technology transfer services to innovative enterprises.
• Associação Nacional de Entidades Promotoras de Empreendimentos Inovadores (ANPROTEC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational association supporting technology parks and business incubators, partnering with NITT on innovation ecosystem development initiatives.
• Associação Forum de Entidades Representativas dos Núcleos de Inovação Tecnológica (FORTEC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational association of technology transfer offices, providing NITT with professional network and best practices for intellectual property management.
• Rede NAMOR (Rede de Núcleos de Inovação Tecnológica da Amazônia Oriental)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of 12 innovation nuclei across Amapá, Pará, and Tocantins states coordinated by Museu Paraense Emúlio Goeldi (MPEG). Members include UFPA, UFRA, UNIFESSPA, UFOPA, IFPA, UEPA, Embrapa, CESUPA, UFT, UNITINS, and UNIFAP. Objective to diffuse best practices in innovation and knowledge protection.
• Secretaria de Educação Profissional e Tecnológica (SETEC/MEC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnical secretariat of Ministry of Education supporting technological education and research projects. NITT collaborates with SETEC on joint innovation and entrepreneurship actions for state development.
• Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa e Inovação Industrial (EMBRAPII)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustrial research association supporting innovation projects. Participated in Innovation & Science 2020 research initiative targeting STEM scientists for innovation understanding.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP): UNICAMP operates the INOVA tech transfer office with one of Brazil's most active university licensing programs, including pharmaceutical and biotech patents. It is a broader incumbent competitor for INPI patent grants in pharmaceutical sciences and for industry-sponsored research funding.
• Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC): UFSC operates one of Brazil's most mature university technology transfer offices (CTIT/SEAD) with substantial patent and licensing activity. It is a broader incumbent that demonstrates the scale of TT infrastructure UNIFAP's NITT aspires to reach, and it competes with UNIFAP for federal innovation funding calls.
• Universidade de São Paulo (USP): USP is Brazil's largest research university with extensive pharmaceutical sciences, nanotechnology, and natural-products programs, plus a sophisticated TTO (InovaUSP). It is the dominant national competitor for CAPES concept-6/7 ratings, productivity fellowships, and major pharma-industry licensing deals.
• Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz): Fiocruz is Brazil's primary federal health research institution with substantial pharmaceutical and biotechnology research output, including patents and licensing. It is a broader incumbent in the same life-sciences research space and competes with PPGCF for federal health-research grants and graduate talent.
• Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ): UFRJ hosts major pharmaceutical sciences graduate programs, the COPPE innovation ecosystem, and active patent prosecution in nanotech and natural products. It is a broader incumbent that competes with PPGCF for graduate students, CNPq productivity grants, and pharma-industry R&D partnerships nationally.

Direct peers

• Universidade Federal do Amazonas (UFAM): UFAM is the primary federal university in Amazonas state with strong pharmaceutical sciences and natural-products programs built around Amazon biodiversity. It directly competes with UNIFAP for CNPq productivity fellowships, PIBIC/PIBITI scholarships, and INPI patent grants in overlapping Amazon-sourced research areas.
• Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA): INPA is Brazil's primary federal research institute dedicated to Amazon biodiversity and natural products, with decades of pharma-related IP and graduate training. It is the dominant competitor for biodiversity-derived patent grants and research funding in the same geographic and scientific space as UNIFAP/PPGCF.
• Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA): UFPA is a fellow Rede NAMOR member and Amazon-region federal university with comparable pharmaceutical and natural-product research, plus an established technology transfer office. It competes with UNIFAP for CAPES, CNPq and FINEP funding, for Amazon biodiversity IP, and for placement of graduate students in the regional research ecosystem.

Others

• Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa): Embrapa is a Rede NAMOR partner and the dominant Brazilian agricultural research corporation with extensive natural-products and biodiversity-derived IP. It is thematically adjacent rather than directly competitive, but its TT scale (Embrapa Agroenergia, Embrapa Recursos Genéticos) sets the benchmark UNIFAP's NITT operates against in the same biodiversity domain.

Regional players

• Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG): UFG is a Central-West federal university with active pharmaceutical sciences programs and a functioning tech transfer office. It is a regional peer (different geography from UNIFAP) but competes for the same federal funding pools and for ranking in CAPES quadriennial evaluations of graduate programs.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/programa-de-p%C3%B3s-gradua%C3%A7%C3%A3o-em-ci%C3%AAncias-farmac%C3%AAuticas-ppgcf---unifap

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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