Brazil’s healthcare system faces chronic shortages of doctors, uneven access, and a widening divide between public and private care. J&J Impact Ventures, the impact investing arm of Johnson & Johnson Foundation, recently invested in Brazilian healthtech investor DNA Capital to help expand access to care across the country’s sprawling and fragmented healthcare system.
The investment came through DNA Capital’s second venture fund and marks J&J Impact Ventures’ first fund commitment in Latin America. Brazil’s development bank BNDES and the São Paulo Development Agency also joined in on the round.
The firm’s second fund will invest in seven to nine companies and has already backed NefroClinicas, a dialysis clinic operator expanding access to kidney treatment across Brazil, and Piwi, a health insurance brokerage helping small businesses provide coverage to employees.
“We believe that with purpose, innovation, and capital, Brazilian healthcare companies can drive real-world impact for the country and beyond,” said DNA Capital’s Luiz Noronha.
Disclosure: J&J Impact Ventures supports ImpactAlpha’s Investing in Health coverage.
Access to healthcare
Brazil’s healthcare system serves more than 200 million people, but access remains uneven across regions and income levels. The country had 235.7 physicians per 100,000 people in 2023, below the regional average of 280, according to the Commonwealth Fund.
Pedro Bueno founded DNA Capital in 2013 following the sale of Amil, the health insurer co-founded by his father, Edson Bueno. UnitedHealth Group acquired the company in 2012 in what was then the largest acquisition of a Brazilian company on record.
DNA’s first fund, launched in 2018, deployed 280 million Brazilian reais ($50 million) across six companies that now reach more than 30 million patients annually, according to the firm. Its portfolio includes Beep Saúde, which connects patients with at-home healthcare services, and Memed, a digital prescription platform used across Brazil.
J&J Impact Ventures invests globally in healthcare access through funds and companies including Cross Border Impact Ventures, and Mobio Interactive, a Singapore-based mental health technology company (see, “J&J Impact Ventures backs Mobio Interactive to expand low-cost mental healthcare”)
This post has been updated to correct factual inaccuracies
