Multiplan Empreendimentos Imobiliários S A : invests in a clinical research center at RibeirãoShopping

A pioneer in creating multi-use projects in Brazil and introducing medical centers into shopping centers, Multiplan is now investing in science and health through the development of the Advanced Center for Research and Development (CAPED). Built by the company and inaugurated a year ago at the RibeirãoShopping Medical Center in Ribeirão Preto (SP), CAPED has 14 approved clinical research studies under way in various phases and has been invited to contribute to more than 60 Brazilian and foreign programs. The clinical research center advances actions in education, research and innovation, and also is actively engaged in national and international health cooperation initiatives. Led by cardiologist and USP professor Dr. Pedro Schwartzmann, CAPED currently is involved in six studies in the volunteer recruitment phase. 

'We want to repeat the CAPED model in all our medical centers,' says Multiplan CEO José Isaac Peres, who pioneered the development of clinics and a day-hospital inside BarraShopping, in Rio de Janeiro, back in the 1990s, with this year marking the 40th anniversary of the opening of RibeirãoShopping.

COVID-19 and human reproduction research

One of the ongoing research projects at the RibeirãoShopping center is an international initiative that analyzes Covid-19 cases. Led in Brazil by CAPED's technical team and with the involvement of seven research centers around the country and 38 participants selected through an internal recruitment process, the study evaluates the cardiological impacts of the disease.   

CAPED also is conducting clinical studies focused on other health areas, such as human reproduction, with a study that was selected from a field of international competitors and is sponsored by a multinational laboratory. Among the project's objectives is a reduction of women's visits to fertilization clinics and a better understanding of the quality of life of infertile men and women. 

Multiplan's investment in the Advanced Research and Development Center is aligned with the company's strategy to develop multi-use enterprises that offer consumers greater convenience, providing 'everything in a single place,' as well as contributing to society through scientific research in the country. CAPED also benefits patients at the RibeirãoShopping Medical Center, through access to specialists and suitable infrastructure, researchers who support the clinical staff, and national research sponsors.