Mexico’s drug market access landscape shake-up: What does it mean for pharma?

On paper, Mexico is one of the most attractive pharmaceutical markets in Latin America. As the second biggest market in the region after Brazil, Mexico has a large population base of almost 130 million, a relatively well-developed regulatory pathway, and rising demand for chronic disease treatment. However, its market access landscape is undergoing considerable reform, resulting in significant uncertainty due to lack of transparency around government decision-making processes.

Since 2019, the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) has embarked upon major healthcare system restructuring guided by its principles of universality, free services, and anti-corruption. Three key far-reaching reforms, which remain ongoing, are:

1. The establishment of the National Health Supplies Compendium, a unified national formulary of drugs subject to the consolidated purchasing undertaken on behalf of the public payers.
2. The involvement of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in the consolidated purchasing.
3. The creation of the Health Institute for Wellbeing (INSABI), with overall responsibility of the consolidated procurement as well as overseeing the healthcare program for the uninsured.

We recently caught up with Dr Xavier Tello, our frequent collaborator and healthcare consultant based in Mexico, to get an update on the status of these reforms and explore their implications for the pharmaceutical industry. Fill in the form below to access the report.