Mexico is Potential Pharma Exporter

22-Aug-2012 - Mexico

The Mexican healthcare industry needs to readjust for the changing demographics of its citizens, states a new report by healthcare experts GlobalData.

The new report, Healthcare, Regulatory and Reimbursement Landscape - Mexico, states that with a population of approximately 112 million, Mexico has a large work force available to support the country’s economy. However, the declining birth rate and increasing share of the elderly population represents an impending healthcare challenge for the Mexican government, as healthcare expenditure will be driven up, while there will be fewer taxpayers to support it. Mexican labor forces are also generally low skilled, with less schooling than those of developed industrial economies, and so low labor productivity and low real wages amplify this burden further.

The medical care and welfare markets are expected to benefit from an increase in government initiatives however. The Ministry of Health introduced the Specific Action Program 2007–2012 (Programas de Acción Específicos 2007–2012) for the prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases. Reforms in the General Health Law (Ley General de Salud) and the healthcare sector led to the formalization of the health protection system, and the 2003 introduction of national health insurance program, Seguro Popular, led to an increase in public funds to purchase medicines, and reduced the direct purchase of medicines by the final consumer. These show the government actively working to support their citizens and healthcare system.

The North American Free Trade Agreement assures its members' protection of intellectual property rights, and provides the necessary impetus for the growth of the Mexican pharmaceutical market. The US and European countries are the major export markets for the Mexican pharmaceutical industry, and patent expiries of blockbuster drugs over coming years are also expected to act as a driver for the generic pharma export market.

The export market in Mexico is supported by the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (Creación de la Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios [Cofepris]), working under the guidance of Salud, the main regulatory authority for pharmaceutical products and medical devices. This body provides a transparent and strong regulatory environment with a shorter lag time than the US and EU, though it can be a challenge for applicants to fill out application forms in Spanish and meet the high fees required by the regulatory authorities. Nevertheless, the approval time period is noticeably less than that of regulatory agencies of developed countries, such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Mexico’s pharmaceutical market in 2005 was valued at approximately $8.1 billion and is projected to reach approximately $22.5 billion by 2020, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7%. The medical device market was worth approximately $3.2 billion in 2011, and is projected to reach approximately $5.1 billion by 2020, at a projected CAGR of 5.2%.

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