Pharma report

NEW! 

DIRECTORY INSIDE 

Mexico 

Pharma report 

August 2012 

FOCUS REPORTS January 2012 1

Pharma.FocusReports.net 

Mexico Report 

2 August 2012 

FOCUS REPORTS


Mexico Report 

FOCUS REPORTS August 2012 3


Mexico Report 

Acknowledgements 

Focus Reports would like to thank all 

individuals, institutions and companies 

involved in producing this report. Special 

thanks go to Rafael Gual (CANIFARMA), 

Hector Valle (IMS), Mikel Arriola 

(COFEPRIS) who showed us their strong 

support and interest throughout our 

project. 

4 August 2012 

FOCUS REPORTS


Mexico Report 

This report was 

prepared by 

Focus Reports 

Project Director: 

Julie Avena 

Chief Editor 

Fred Gebhart 

Research and 

Editorial: Kirsty Walker 

Project Publisher: 

Béatrice Collet 

Graphic Assistance: 

Cristine Guiang 

Copyright © 

All rights reserved. No part of this 

publication maybe reproduced in 

any form or by any means, whether 

electronic, mechanical or otherwise 

including photocopying, recording or 

any information storage or retrieval 

system without prior written consent 

of Focus Reports. 

While every attempt is made to 

ensure the accuracy of the information 

contained in this report, neither 

Focus Reports, neither the authors 

accept any liabilities for errors and 

omissions. Opinions expressed in this 

report are not necessarily those of 

the authors. 

Contents 

Acknowledgements ............................................................................... 4 

Mexico: Shaking Up The System ...........................................................7 

An Outstanding Example........................................................................8 

Rising To The Challenge .......................................................................10 

Shifting Landscapes Shift Strategies....................................................14 

Home Turf................................................................................................18 

Too Much Tortilla...................................................................................22 

Unreached Potential...............................................................................24 

Interview with Mikel Arriola, 

Federal Commissioner, COFEPRIS.......................................................30 

Interview with Peter Erlbacher, 

COO Spanish Latin America, Aspen Labs............................................32 

Interview with Miguel A. Salazar, 

Director General, Boehringer Ingelheim Mexico.................................34 

Carlos Lopez Patan, Director General, Medix......................................36 

Markus Krenzlin, Country Manager, Shire...........................................38 

Alfredo Rimoch, Director General, Liomont.........................................40 

Guy Jean Savoir, General Director, 

Carnot Laboratories...............................................................................42 

Directory..................................................................................................47 

Index .......................................................................................................54 

FOCUS REPORTS August 2012 5


Mexico Report 

6 August 2012 

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SPECIAL SPONSORED SECTION SPECIAL SPONSORED SECTION 

Mexico Report 

Mexico Report Mexico 

MEXICO: MEXICO: 

Shaking Shaking Up the Up System the System 

Over ten years Over ago, the ten economic years ago, concept the economic of the ‘BRIC’ concept countries—Brazil, 

Russia, tries—Brazil, India and Russia, China—was India and formed, China—was and it’s formed, was produced and by it’s Focus Reports. was produced by Focus Reports. 

of the ‘BRIC’ coun- 

This sponsored supplement This sponsored supplement 

pretty much all we’ve pretty heard much about all we’ve ever heard since. about Yet earlier ever since. this Yet earlier this 

Project Director: Julie Avena Project Director: Julie Avena 

year, the very same year, man the who very coined same man the term—Jim who coined O’Neill, the term—Jim 

Research 

O’Neill, 

and Editorial: Kirsty Research Avril Jane and Walker Editorial: Kirsty Avril J 

chief economist at chief Goldman economist Sachs—declared at Goldman Sachs—declared that by 2020 Mexico that by 2020 Project Publisher: Mexico Béatrice Project Collet Publisher: Béatrice Collet 

would be the seventh would largest be the economy seventh in largest the world, economy surpassing the world, both surpassing Graphic Assistance: both Christine Graphic Guiang Assistance: Christine Guia 

India and Russia. India Mexico and belongs Russia. Mexico to one of belongs four recently to one defined of four recently defined 

For exclusive interviews and For more exclusive info, please interviews and more 

‘growth markets’ ‘growth alongside markets’ Indonesia, alongside South Korea Indonesia, and Turkey. South Korea That and Turkey. That 

log onto 

log onto 

certainly shakes things certainly up shakes a little for things both up outside a little observers for both outside and ac-observertive local stakeholders tive local in the stakeholders economy. in the economy. 

or write and to contact@focusreports.net 

ac- 

or write to contact@focusreports 

But what does this recent But what categorization does this recent to pull categorization Mexico up from to the pull bottom Mexico of up the from erage the bottom from 17 of million the erage Mexicans from 17 to more million Mexica 

as a ‘growth market’ suggest as a ‘growth for Mexico’s market’ suggest pile; according for Mexico’s to the latest pile; according OECD Health to the latest than OECD 50 million Health who were than 50 previously million not who were pre 

pharma industry, recently pharma left industry, red-faced recently Data, left Mexico red-faced fared 33rd Data, out Mexico of 34 OECD fared 33rd under out of any 34 kind OECD of health under scheme. any kind Now of almost 

every on single public Mexican most every in the single country Mexican in t 

health schem 

in regional second place in after regional Brazil’s second bullish 

and apparently unstoppable ish and apparently growth unstoppable health as growth a percentage health of GDP. as a The percentage gov- 

is of covered GDP. The under gov- 

a public is covered health under system. a public healt 

place countries after Brazil’s for total bull- 

expenditure countries for on public total expenditure 

With an estimated value With between an estimated 12 ernment value between is also fighting 12 ernment against is rapidly also fighting increasing 

Mexican levels pharma- 

of chronic creasing long-term levels of ill- 

chronic tion long-term against Sanitary ill- 

tion Risk against (COFEPRIS) Sanitary Risk (C 

against The Federal rapidly Commission in- 

The for Federal the Protec- 

Commission for 

and 14 billion USD, the and Mexican 14 billion pharmaceutical 

industry has seen ceutical some industry significant has seen nesses some rife significant in the population, nesses rife such in the as population, oversaw several such recent as oversaw regulatory several changes. recent regulato 

USD, the 

changes over the last four changes years. over The the government 

has significantly ernment increased has significantly public increased Most notably, public the Popular Most notably, Insurance the Popular in 2008 Insurance enables foreign in 2008 pharmaceutical enables foreign phar 

last four diabetes. years. The gov- 

diabetes. 

Suppression of the manufacturing Suppression plant of the law manufacturin 

health spending and coverage health spending an effort and coverage Scheme in ‘Seguro an effort Popular’ Scheme increased ‘Seguro its cov- 

Popular’ companies increased to its distribute cov- 

companies and sell their to distribute prod- and sell 

Photo credit: Kirsty Avril Jane Walker 

FOCUS REPORTS AUGUST 2012 August FOCUS REPORTS 2012 AUGUST S22012 7 FOCUS R


Mexico Report 

NADINE ABRAHAMS AND TAMSYN LA VITA 

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ucts in Mexico without the presence of a 

manufacturing plant on Mexican territory. 

The deadline for new generic drug registrations 

passed in February 2010 which, after 

being subjected to stringent bio-equivalency 

testing, cleaned up an estimated 7000 

products from the market. Additionally, the 

antibiotics law was enacted in August 2011, 

requiring a prescription to be presented before 

any antibiotic can be dispensed. 

For Rafael Gual, general director of 

CANIFARMA, the National Chamber of 

the pharmaceutical industry, there is one 

goal that COFEPRIS must still achieve, 

“Full recognition [from PAHO, the Pan 

American Health Organization], which will 

provide a strong opportunity for national 

companies to reach the Latin American 

market; a win-win situation for both industry 

and government.” 

These wide-reaching changes have affected 

industry dynamics, and coupled with 

the patent cliff and the worldwide innovation 

drought, have opened up a bigger space 

for generics penetration and created the perfect 

storm that has pushed present multinational 

companies to either diversify, or to 

focus on niche markets. Mexico’s solid macroeconomic 

policies and encouragement of 

foreign investment have also increased competition 

in the market, pushing local companies 

to take a side step on their strategies 

and in some cases to be more resourceful 

and aggressive in retaining and increasing 

their share of the pharmaceutical pie. 

MACRO DATA OF THE MEXICAN 

PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY 

(last available data, INEGI 2009, OECD 2010) 

Share in GDP 

Share in Manufacturing GDP 

Health expenditures as a share of GDP 

Health expenditures per capita (dlls.) 

Value of the Pharmaceutical Market (billion dlls.) 

Direct Employment 

Indirect Employment 

Last but not least, 

there has been an undeniable 

shift of 

power towards the 

point of sale: pharmacies 

and supermarkets. 

Pharmacy 

giants are taking 

warehousing and 

distribution into 

their own hands and 

Source: COFEPRIS - with data from INEGI and CANIFARMA 

*Note: value estimated for 2011 using 12.42 pesos per dollar, average exchange rate for 2011. 

Rafael Gual, 

General Director, 

CANIFARMA 

private label (store brand) drugs are becoming 

increasingly popular. Some say positioning 

a general medical service with doctors 

at the point of sale has created an even 

bigger demand for private label medicines 

at the expense of other brands. For many 

players in the market, it is a bitter pill to 

swallow. 

Mexico certainly offers a lot of growth 

potential. One can debate whether Mexico 

is still truly an emerging market, but as Ricardo 

Alvarez Tostado, president and general 

director of AstraZeneca Mexico points 

out, “It is not how fast you grow, but how 

consistent your growth is over time, and I 

genuinely believe that Mexico is very well 

positioned through a rigorous monetary 

policy and an improving fiscal policy. It is 

a democratic, free enterprise emerging market. 

Mexico is, and will remain, a strategic 

market for any industrial interest.” 

But to grow, or in some cases survive, 

pharmaceutical companies must adapt to 

dynamic market conditions. Those who 

m a n a g e t o 

1.2% 

6.9% 

6.1$ 

934 

13* 

78,500 

330,000 

achieve this flexibility 

in Mexico 

will be the ones 

with smiles on 

their faces in 

2020 as successful 

players in one 

of the world’s 

largest economies. 

AN OUTSTAND- 

ING EXAMPLE 

Healthcare has 

been a top priority 

in Mexico for 

8 August 2012 

S3 FOCUS REPORTS AUGUST 2012 

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SPECIAL SPONSORED SECTION 

Mexico Report 

Mexico Report 

the last ten years, with the government working hard to keep its 

promise of universal coverage and increased hospital and medical 

infrastructure throughout the country. 

As a testimony to this, Margaret Chan, the director general of 

the World Health Organization, openly praised the Mexican government 

at the International Forum on Universal Health Coverage 

in Mexico City on April 2nd, 2012 by stating: “I am pleased 

to hear that Mexico is achieving its goal [of universal coverage], 

with health care available to everyone in the country. This gives 

the world an outstanding example of what can be achieved through 

high-level political commitment.” 

Under the current system, there are three major institutions. 

The Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) is the largest social 

security institution in Latin America. IMSS covers all formal 

workers in the private sector, which according to the latest IMS 

Health data represents 44.3% of the total population. 

The Institute of Health and Social Services (ISSSTE), covers 

all government workers and represents around 9.8% of the total 

population. Recent financial restructuring 

and cost saving initiatives within both IMSS 

and ISSSTE have contributed to a strongly 

pro-generics attitude within the two health 

systems. 

Thirdly, Seguro Popular was created in 

2003 as a type of public insurance scheme 

to provide health service coverage for Mexicans 

not affiliated with any social security 

Ricardo Alvarez institution. Seguro Popular has been the 

Tostado, President main driver of increased public health coverage, 

and the government recently pledged 

and General Director, 

AstraZeneca 

Mexico 

that 80% of state-purchased medicines 

should be comprised solely of generic drugs. 

The Mexican pharma market has always had an historically 

low generics penetration, and these three initiatives are pushing 

it firmly towards a more generics-focused environment. 

Although the pharmaceutical industry has expressed its delight 

at such a noble scheme, the government healthcare systems have 

not been without their problems. Many people in the industry feel 

that when price is the only basis on which to win a government 

tender, quality falls into second place. 

Hector Carillo, general director of Apotex Mexico, points 

out that “The government continues to be a good business for 

us because supplying on time is becoming increasingly important. 

When it comes to timely and high quality product delivery, 

they know we can do it. But we cannot supply at their requested 

benchmark prices. They demand the lowest possible 

pricing from the market, and while we understand Seguro Popular 

has a limited budget and is required to look for the lowest 

possible prices, Apotex cannot compromise on quality just to 

get the extra sale.” 

Alongside these pricing concerns are questions over the administrative 

complexities of Seguro Popular and the fact that 

SHARE OF MARKET BY COMPANY TYPE 

18% 

17% 

66% 

22% 

25% 

53% 

14% 

28% 

58% 

21% 

46% 

34% 

US Germany France Russia 

60% 

19% 

22% 

it is run locally across each State in the country. This is causing 

headaches for pain specialists Grünenthal. 

Tomas Bordonaba, general manager of Grünenthal de Mexico 

notes that, “The institutional market represents a big opportunity 

for Grünenthal, but it has additional complexity 

because every state manages its own budget and has its own 

priorities. You have to create an individual strategy for every 

www.lundbeck.com.mx 

61% 

11% 

29% 

9% 

77% 

15% 

India Korea China 

35% 

25% 

40% 

LOCAL OTHER FOREIGN LARGE GLOBAL (15) 

Source: IMS Health, MIDAS 2010. Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico & Korea Retail only; China hospital only 

20% 

26% 

55% 

Brazil Mexico Arg. 

Lundbeck 

Pharmaceutical company 

with a global presence 

Lundbeck is a Danish company dedicated to 

Research and Development of medication 

specifically for the treatment of Central 

Nervous System diseases. Our products 

benefit millions of patients in over 100 

countries. Lundbeck invests a significant 

proportion of its resources in the search for 

new therapeutic solutions which are 

focused on our mission: to improve the 

quality of life for those suffering from 

psychiatric and neurological disorders. 

Lundbeck in Mexico 

Lundbeck started operations in Mexico 

in the year 2000 and since then has 

provided the medical community with safe 

and effective alternatives for managing 

Depression, Anxiety, Alzheimer's Disease 

and Schizophrenia, among others. 

The company's affiliates on a national level 

recognize the role they play in this field, and 

Lundbeck has proudly been recognized as 

one of the best places to work in Mexico. 

Specialists in Psychiatry 

Pioneers in Neurology 

54% 

13% 

33% 

FOCUS REPORTS AUGUST 2012 August FOCUS REPORTS 2012 S49


Mexico Report 

Mexico Report 


state.” He also goes on to say that, “In 

general, the awareness of the importance 

of correct pain management strategies is 

growing across the different institutions, 

and Grünenthal is 

playing a key role.” 

Awareness within 

government institutions 

and the need 

to treat certain conditions 

has become 

a priority within the 

Héctor Carrillo, 


Apotex Mexico 

pharmaceutical industry. 

Since public 

health institutions 

have increased their 

coverage of the population, the sales ratio 

between the government and the private 

market for the pharmaceutical industry 

as a whole has shifted in favor of 

the government. Awareness is the key that 

unlocks the door to new business opportunities, 

otherwise known as market access. 

This has been surprisingly rosy in 

recent times as Aurelio Martinez, general 

manager for Cegedim Mexico, CA 

& Caribbean can qualify when it comes 

to orphan drugs. 

“When the government started getting 

involved because of the high 

cost of treatments and the 

growth of social services, they 

also started listening more 

closely to the industry,” he says. 

“That is the reason why market 

access has gained such importance 

for pharmaceutical companies 

in Mexico.” 

On February 29th 2012, 

the government published a 

change in the general health 

law to recognize the presence of both orphan 

diseases and the drugs available to 

treat them. In essence, the Ministry of 

Health is now required to support the diagnosis 

and treatment of orphan diseases. 

For Markus Krenzlin, country manager 

of Shire Mexico, the change has been 

fantastic news. 

“Mexico has a great attitude towards 

Tomas Bordonaba, 

General Manager, 

Grünenthal Mexico 

orphan drugs,” he said. “The Mexican authorities 

are very conscious of the various 

niche problems that exist for patients across 

the country and have been very open in 

making orphan drugs available 

to them. This Mexican public 

sector consciousness is the reason 

why we have been able to 

provide patients with new treatments.” 

Despite a universal health 

coverage coming forward in 

leaps and bounds, figures show 

that coverage is still limited in 

some areas. Current out-ofpocket 

spending accounts for 

more than 50% of total healthcare costs, 

and 85% of pharmaceutical expenditure. 

This is more than substantial enough to 

fuel a large retail sector. But Mexico’s age 

pyramid is becoming more similar to that 

of a mature market each day, and for the 

most part this means rising healthcare costs 

for the government as more Mexicans turn 

to the state for support. Medical education 

is contributing towards a more effective 

culture of diagnosis, and chronic disease 

demographic is on the increase. All of which 

will require the Mexican government to be 

very well equipped with the right skills, 

decision makers and foresight to cope with 

these mammoth changes. 

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE 

Communication is the name of the game 

Life has not been easy for Mikel Arriola 

since he stepped in as head of COFEPRIS 

in March 2011. The organization regulates 

10% of the Mexican GDP and 12% 

of the country’s international trade, and 

the regulatory authority’s agenda is, and 

has been, fit to bursting since Arriola’s 

entrance. But aside from the immense 

responsibility and the current administrative 

blockages in the system, there was 

a different kind of challenge that presented 

itself first of all. For Arriola it was 

a completely new area, which represented 

a tough barrier in terms of communicating 

with the industry. 

“The most important challenge I faced 

when entering COFEPRIS was the hu- 


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man challenge. There was a 

myth that this agency had to 

be administered by doctors or 

by people related to the medical 

or pharmaceutical business, 

and I came from the Ministry 

of Finance, so 

conceptually, that was the biggest 

challenge,” he recalls. 

It also seemed that there 

was a strong sense of good copbad 

cop where historically the 

authorities seemed to systematically challenge 

the opinion of the industry. This required 

Arriola to apply a complete communication 

‘reset’. Regular meetings with 

CANIFARMA and other industry associations, 

together with an ‘open door’ 

policy for meeting directly with pharmaceutical 

companies helped the relationship 

enormously. 

As Rafael Gual of CANIFARMA points 

out “The way they have been communicating 

and working with the [industry] has 

Mikel Arriola, Federal 

Commissioner, 

COFEPRIS 

been tremendously supportive.” 

Indeed, the new COFEPRIS 

leadership team appeared, by 

almost complete industry consensus, 

to bring about one of the 

most positive changes the industry 

has seen. 

Both leading up to and 

while Arriola and his team have 

been heading up the organization, 

there have been three 

main items on the COFEPRIS 

agenda. Firstly, the essential ‘clean up’ of 

the market. Secondly, the continuous improvement 

of regulatory framework and 

reduction of barriers to enter the market. 

Finally, the agency has been working hard 

to get recognition from PAHO as a regulatory 

body. 

Getting rid of bad eggs 

In terms of ‘cleaning up’ the market, in 

February 2005 COFEPRIS amended Article 

376 of the country’s General Health 

Law that mandated the renewal of every 

drug registration in the market. All generic 

pharmaceutical products were expected 

to have proven bioequivalence and therapeutic 

efficacy by February 2010. It was a 

much anticipated move for the industry, 

opening up the way for innovative and generics 

companies alike. It also ensured there 

were only two types of medicine available: 

generic and innovative. 

The reform was crucial, but it was also 

the main cause of the administrative backlog 

when the government enforced the reform 

in February 2010. Normally, COFE- 

PRIS would receive 400 renewals or 

registration applications per month, but 

in February 2010 they received more than 

4000. In the last twelve months, COFE- 

PRIS met the backlog challenge and issued 

an impressive 9000 renewed drug registrations, 

representing, Arriola said, about 

1.2 billion USD. 

To help them through this backlog, last 

year COFEPRIS published three separate 

AUGUST 2012 FOCUS REPORTS S6 

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calls for individuals or entities interested in working alongside 

them. The idea was to assist COFEPRIS with the control and assessment 

of pharmaceutical products under the new registration 

scheme. Cristina Viruega, co-founder of TAPVS, one of the new 

authorized third parties, explains one of the many benefits of the 

system. 

“We can communicate more closely with the industry. It is just 

like having an official from COFEPRIS working with you in the 

company, helping to integrate and create the correct dossiers in 

anticipation of your product registration applications,” she says. 

This new registration setup was an important milestone in 

the organization’s history, and more so because it helped to phase 

out the so called similares from the market. Similares were legally 

questionable medicines without proof of bioequivalence, 

and incredibly popular amongst lower income population groups. 

Similares caused regulatory and safety concerns for the government 

and some say that due to adverse side effects, theyh adfi re d 

up suspicion in the general public about generic medicine as a 

whole. The elimination of similares, together with the increase 

in public healthcare using predominantly generic medicines, have 

essentially made generics more accessible to the Mexican public; 

both financially and psychologically. 

Hector Valle, general manager for IMS Health in North Lat- 

Strengthening Guidelines for Biosimilars 

Jaime Uribe, CEO, 

Probiomed 

Despite being in the Mexican market for over twenty years, 

biosimilars have never been regulated as a separate entity. 

They have always been regulated as simply another category 

of generic medicines. 

“This enabled almost unmonitored 

competition from China, India, South 

Korea and other fast-growing countries, 

which sometimes caused more 

damage than good to the patient,” 

explains Jaime Uribe, CEO of Mexican 

biosimilar company Probiomed. 

“This is the reason why biosimilars 

started to be regulated much 

more closely… and after five years 

of negotiations the law was finalized,” 

he continues. The Mexican guidelines for the approval 

of biotech and biosimilar drugs became effective 

in April 2012. 

Dr. Ana Cristina Mirassou, director of biotechnology in 

Jalisco-based company, Grupo IFACO, tells us how this lack 

of tight regulation affected the launch 

of their first biotechnology product. 

“There has been some turmoil 

around biotech regulation in Mexico, 

and for a long time, the authorities 

were uncertain as to which requirements 

to ask for in a new biotech 

product. Companies who were able 

Ana Cristina Mirassou, 

Biotechnology 

Manager, Grupo 

IFACO 

to register their products before this 

turmoil were granted the registration 

in about six months, whereas 

we had to wait three years.” 

According to BMI figures, Mexico’s 

biopharmaceutical sector currently employs almost 

25,000 Mexicans in more than 32 biotechnology companies. 

Biotechnology is also becoming more of a priority 

for many States in Mexico when compared to traditional 

pharmaceuticals. 

“The governor of Jalisco declared biotechnology as one 

of the key strategic industries for the state. He sees biotechnology 

as the future,” Mirassou says. 

Uribe adds, “Half of new innovative drug registrations 

given here in Mexico are for biotechnology products: the 

world is looking to biotechnology and companies are investing 

more and more every day.” 

Indeed, Mirassou sees Grupo Ifaco’s biotechnology center 

as the main growth driver for the group, and concludes: 

“Mexico is emerging as an important hub for the 

production of biotechnology products. Once we have our 

legislation in order, we will be extremely competitive, not 

only inside Mexico, but internationally.” 

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in America, says that as a company they 

run 10,000 interviews on a monthly basis 

with customers leaving the point of pharmaceutical 

sale. This is to understand what 

is happening to the end consumer. 

As a testimony to the increasing levels 

of public understanding on generics, Valle 

explains “80% of the people we interviewed 

said they understand generics, but 

when we ask more questions to qualify 

their understanding, it is actually 50%. 

Around 41% said that if there was a generic 

version of products they buy normally, 

they would buy the generic. That’s a 

huge change, and part of it has to do with 

the government putting a lot of information 

out, and also giving quick registrations 

for generic drugs to speed up access.” 

This flurry of activity to make generics 

more understandable and better trusted 

also generated a need for companies to provide 

bioequivalence and clinical analysis 

services, approved by the authorities. 

There were some drugs on the market 

that had never been submitted for clinical 

analysis at all. “This created an explosion 

of necessity that had never existed in Mexico 

before. There were a few clinics around, 

but none integrating all the services that 

were required.” remarks Hector 

Avila, general manager of CE- 

CyC Pharma, an authorized 

third party bioequivalence clinical 

trials center. “I decided to 

create a Mexican company that 

could cater for all those needs 

in one place. Our main areas are 

clinical research and analysis, 

and the whole regulatory section—because 

new regulations 

are tough to understand, and 

we wanted to offer this regulatory 

service as part of our value chain.” 

Reducing barriers to entry 

Step two on the COFEPRIS agenda was to 

eliminate barriers to entry in the market. 

This was partly done by suppressing the 

Héctor Valle, General 

Manager North 

Latin America, IMS 

Health 

manufacturing plant requirement enabling 

foreign companies to distribute and sell 

their products in the market hence adding 

to pricing competition. COFEPRIS also 

built a consensus around biotechnology 

regulation. Thirdly they issued 

109 new generic drug registrations 

in the last twelve months. 

The registrations granted covered 

almost 60% of diseases related 

to mortality in Mexico. 

According to COFEPRIS it saved 

around 100 million USD in just 

six months, and the agency will 

save a further 1 billion USD in 

private and public money over 

the next four years. 

Dr. Dagoberto Cortés, general 

director of Hormona Laboratories, 

points out that in the government’s continued 

push to open access and reduce barriers 

for cheaper generic products, they have 

also significantly reduced time to market. 

“A couple of years ago, the average time 

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between patent loss and generic arrival on 

the market was two years… today COFE- 

PRIS is making a great effort to reduce the 

time needed to issue a generic 

registration. In some cases the 

time to market has reduced to a 

couple of months. This is very 

important for the authorities because 

it represents a lot of savings.” 

International Recognition 

The third step for COFEPRIS 

is to build international recognition. 

In 2005, the organization 

launched a project with 

PAHO to harmonize regulators in Latin 

America. Since then, other countries in 

the region have been much faster on the 

uptake in recognizing the importance of 

being audited and approved by the international 

health authority. Brazil and Colombia 

were the first to be given recognition, 

followed by a string of other 

Dr. Dagoberto 

Cortés, General 

Director, Hormona 

Laboratorios 

countries, and only in June 2011 did 

COFEPRIS reinitiate the process with 

PAHO. At the moment they are already 

on their final audit: a positive 

sign for a country, where recognition 

has been long overdue. 

An approval from PAHO 

would indicate the strength and 

rigidity of Mexico’s sanitary 

regulations, and the bar that 

has been raised in terms of the 

quality of drugs produced in 

Mexico. 

As Mikel Arriola puts it, to 

receive PAHO certification 

means that “we will have closed 

the circle in terms of modernization of the 

agency and implementing the best practices 

required. More importantly, COFEPRIS 

will be able to guarantee predictability, efficiency, 

safety and now recognition by an 

external authority which is the fourth pillar 

in our work agenda. It will be the added 

value of President Calderon’s presidency 

– to build a strong, comprehensive and 

recognized sanitary institution.” he says. 

COFEPRIS has come a long way since 

it opened in 2003. It is still a very young 

organization that has to deal with constantly 

increasing responsibilities, but 

PAHO recognition will be the first step in 

sending a plain and categorical message 

to other regulatory agencies about Mexico. 

COFEPRIS would not only fulfill its 

role as a sanitary regulator, but also as an 

economic regulator. 

SHIFTING LANDSCAPES 

SHIFT STRATEGIES 

The patent cliff is not a ground-breaking 

story. It is affecting Mexico as well as other 

pharmaceutical markets across the globe. 

Sources say that in Mexico, the market will 

lose 600 million USD in exclusivity by 2015. 

Marked socio-economic differences are also 

playing an important role in pushing the 

uptake of generics, and these issues are 

starting to affect multinational corporations 

(MNCs). MNCs are being forced to 

open up and diversify, quite simply to have 

their fingers in as many pies where they can 

compete successfully. Alternatively they are 

applying a more focused sales strategy to 

concentrate on niche markets. 

Alvarez Tostado of AstraZeneca believes 

that MNCs need to adjust their activities 

to become competitive in both the private 

and public sector. 

“Mexico provides a uniquely generous 

market structure where you have the institutional 

sector, the private out-of-pocket 

segment of the market, and then you have 

the new up-and-coming popular insurance 

systems that will cater to those who have 

very little access to medical care, if they 

have access at all. So in that regard, I think 

the industry has to realign itself to make 

sure that it is able to provide adequate services 

to the institutional sector; provide 

broadened access to the out-of-pocket consumer, 

and obviously realign to be competitive 

in the Seguro Popular concept.” 

Mexico is no exception to the global 

trend of companies moving towards branded 

generics either, a successfully growing 

sector in a very much brand-driven Mexi- 



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can society. Bertrand Baron, general director of Sanofi Mexico, 

is confident that Sanofi’s global strategy of diversification fits well 

with the current climate in Mexico. 

“I believe that Sanofi in Mexico is a perfect 

example of what we are as a diversified 

healthcare player because here we are playing 

in all the markets: human vaccines, consumer 

healthcare, biotech, rare diseases, 

innovative products, generics, and soon we 

will be in eye care.” says Baron. 

Bertrand Baron, 


Sanofi Mexico 

Peter Erlbacher, 

COO Spanish Latin 

America, Aspen Labs 

Timothy Daveler, VP 

and General Director, 

MSD Mexico 

Sanofi acquired Mexican laboratory Kendrick 

in 2009, and last year bought Medley, 

the Brazilian branded generics company 

that currently sits at #1 in Brazil and #3 in 

Latin America for its category. The acquisitions 

are perfect examples of decisions that will allow the company 

to compete in all market segments. 

“We believe there is a huge market, and generics were a piece 

of the market we were not tackling. Now we are doing it with 

good quality brands, guaranteeing quality to both the physician 

and the patient.” he continues. 

The first products under the Medley brand were launched in 

the Mexican market just a few months ago with high expectations. 

Medley is already rising fast up the 

industry ranks. 

Aspen Labs, the South African pharmaceutical 

giant and relative newcomer to 

the Mexican market, started operations in 

Latin America through a 50% acquisition 

of Strides in 2007. Aspen found the key to 

success in Mexico was through turning an 

originally hospital-focused and opportunistic 

market business into a business driven 

primarily by promotion and branding. 

“In 2009, Aspen started to implement 

a structure that would enable us to enter 

into the private ethical market, or the prescription-based 

business. That is where we 

started to build up our sales and marketing 

team. At the same time, we were launching 

a small portfolio of locally developed 

and manufactured branded generics. The 

combination of the two provides a strong 

platform with greater brand recognition 

for future Aspen branded generics.” says 

Peter Erlbacher, COO of Aspen Labs, Span- 




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ish Latin America. 

This turnaround strategy to harness the Mexican market 

trends was proven successful as Erlbacher 

goes on to explain. “Since then, Aspen 

Labs has performed incredibly well: we 

have delivered significant growth, more 

than trebling our turnover in the last three 

years.” 

Other MNCs did not turn around to 

join the generic playground, but fought 

back by taking it a step further from a localization 

point of view. They are either 

Karel Fucikovsky, 

General Director 

making tailor-made solutions from their 

Mexico & Central 

America, Pierre current portfolio, or using their innovative 

pipelines to target niche biotechnol- 

Fabre Médicament 

ogy sectors. 

Tim Daveler, vice president and general director of MSD in 

Mexico explains, “We have a unique development laboratory 

here in Mexico [the Mexican Product Development Laboratory] 

that is not commonly seen in other companies, especially 

not multinational companies. We use this development laboratory 

to expand the lifecycle management for our products in 

order to meet the needs of Mexicans. Many of our products 

that are on the shelves in Mexico have come from our development 

laboratory… in order to meet the 

market needs here in Mexico.” 

Karel Fucikovsky, general director in 

Mexico & Central America for the French 

company Pierre Fabre Médicament, believes 

a specialty focus will bring reward. 

“The rules of the market will keep changing… 

International companies will start to 

Sergio Duplan, Country 

President and 


Novartis Mexico 

focus on higher specialty drugs, and a company 

like Pierre Fabre Medicament that is 

very focused on products and medical specialties, 

will be able to deliver growth.” 

TOTAL PHARMACEUTICAL MARKET BY PRODUCT TYPE 

(MAT JANUARY 2012) 

Institutional 

Retail 

Generics 

Original 

brands 

Generics 

Branded 

Generics 

Original 

brands 

Value 

(US$ M) 

14.040 

5% 

19% 

13% 

21% 

42% 

Growth 

vs. PY 

2% 

2% 

7% 

11% 

1% 

Units 

(M packs) 

3.032 

35% 

10% 1% 

26% 3% 

12% 7% 

17% –3% 

Source: IMS Health analysis and estimates; CER:13.45 USD 

Growth 

vs. PY 

5% 

On the same tack, multinational Novartis decided to change 

their business model in Mexico and shift their resources away 

from mature brands. They are focusing their efforts on new brands 

in niche markets and promoting awareness and partnerships 

within the government. 

“Now our pipelines are focused on specialty products for rarer 

diseases treated by high-priced biotechnology products that 

very few people can buy for themselves. For 

this strategy we need to partner with the 

Government and Social Security system in 

order to get reimbursement, and so that patients 

can receive the products. Only now 

are [the authorities] beginning to open up 

and put resources into new products again.” 

says Sergio Duplan, country president and 

general manager of Novartis Mexico. 

Medical education and awareness has 

traditionally been quite challenging in 

Mexico, leading some companies to put 

resources into education in order for the market to open up. 

Angel Sosa, general director in Mexico of human protein specialists 

Octapharma, explains that “It is not easy to show the 

government authorities the savings to be made in giving patients 

LET’S MAKE THINGS HAPPEN. 

Pierre Fabre Médicament is the 2nd largest independent French pharmaceutical 

laboratory, and orients its development on specifically targeted therapeutic lines. 

The discovery of new molecules has enabled the firm to reinforce and emphasize 

its world-wide development. 

Pierre Fabre Mexico started operations 9 years ago, and is rapidly becoming a 

leading company in Oncology and Woman's Health. 

Pierre Fabre Farma de Mexico S.A. de C.V. 

Boulevard Manuel Avila Camacho N.191 

Col. Los Morales Polanco, C.P. 11150 Mexico DF. 

www.pierre-fabre.com 

Angel Sosa, General 

Director, Octapharma 

Mexico 



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the treatments that they require, but it is 

possible, and it is also the key to further 

developing immune deficiency treatment 

in Mexico.” 

Octapharma takes an active role in 

promoting this, he says. 

“We participate in both government 

and scientific meetings in which authorities, 

physicians and patients discuss awareness 

issues openly… and in the field of 

immune deficiencies, we have been working 

very closely with a patient organization 

by sponsoring a road trip across the 

country that transmits the key focal signs 

of the diseases to local physicians.” 

Here to Stay 

“We are clearly flying on the radar; Mexico 

is a priority market… and Pierre Fabre 

Medicament is here in Mexico to stay”, remarks 

Karel Fucikovsky. Despite the range 

of necessary strategy shifts deployed by 

many multinationals to stay present on the 

undulating Mexican landscape, it seems 

there is so much potential to be realized 

that it is duly worth the effort. In some 

cases, it has catapulted Mexico onto the 

priority list for investment and resource assignment—in 

some cases placing Mexico 

as their Latin American headquarters. 

Norbert Oppitz, senior vice president 

for Nycomed, a Takeda Company, in Latin 

America points out, “Today, Brazil is the 

most important economy, but in a regional 

context Mexico will be the most important 

player for decades to come… Mexico today 

is much more consolidated than many of 

the other so called truly emerging markets, 

it is a more industrialized and modern society 

than many people realize. Things are 

moving here, and one of the most dangerous 

things we can do as a multinational 

company is not to understand it.” 

HOME TURF 

On the inside, looking out 

If multinational companies are looking in, 

then you could say that Mexican companies 

have been looking out to send their 

products elsewhere. IMS Health figures 

show that local companies in Mexico have 

introduced more products to the market 

than multinationals in the last 10 years. 

In 2011 for example, national companies 

launched a total of 657 SKUs (stock-keeping 

units, or unique products) in Mexico, 

compared to 492 SKUs from multinational 

companies. In the last two years national 

companies have either maintained or 

increased promotional investment in order 

to gain market share. They are also 

finding it more tempting to look across the 

border and export their products—both 

North and South of Mexico—to increase 

revenue, despite the challenges faced along 

the way. 

This could possibly be explained by turning 

back the clock for a second. Guy Jean 

Savoir, general director of national company 

Carnot Laboratories recalls: “In 2008 

you could find a market that was extremely 

healthy and a feeling that both price and unit 

GLOBALIZATION 



FOCUS REPORTS



Mexico Mexico Report Report 

increases would continue to be prevalent; 

everything was easy.” 

In 2008, things started to change. Savoir 

points out that Mexico has three main 

sources of capital: oil, tourism, and remittance 

(this is the income from Mexicans 

working in the United States). When the 

global economic crisis hit the world that 

year, all three income sources dropped significantly. 

Remittance dropped, the oil price 

dropped after being high for so long, and 

tourism was sent packing after both swine 

flu and the spiraling war on drugs. Acquisition 

power reduced dramatically, at the 

same time COFEPRIS implemented bioequivalence 

regulations that suddenly enabled 

the public to access cheap, trusted 

generics. Generics didn’t stop growing, foreign 

competition also joined the crowd, 

and prices dropped even more. For the majority 

of companies, faces dropped too. 

Some companies had foreseen these market 

changes and preferred to look outwards 

and export sooner, rather than later. 

Guillermo Funes Rodriguez, CEO of 

innovative Mexican company Silanes comments, 

“Due to the fact that our major 

market was Mexico, we had to make a 

change ourselves. The only way was to 

diversify our products and go 

into Latin America, the United 

States and Europe to build up 

strategic alliances. We are now 

growing in those markets and 

we are currently developing new 

products in our European research 

and development facilities.” 

Silanes as a company puts 

10% of sales back into research 

and development. Although 

Mexico is still their principal 

market, they have also been 

Guy Jean Savoir, 


Carnot 

manufacturing their own products in Brazil 

after forming a strategic alliance with 

Ache Labs, the Brazilian pharmaceutical 

company. 

Silanes is the first and only Mexican 

company to have an innovative drug developed 

on home turf and approved by the 

FDA. The company is exporting their 

snake, scorpion and spider bite anti-venom 

to the United States and soon to parts 

of Africa. He notes, “if we had decided to 

go into the North American 

market with just generics, as 

other companies have done, we 

would have failed because Asian 

countries are selling their generics 

to the Americans much 

more cheaply than Mexicans 

ever could. So we had to conquer 

the North American market 

with quality and innovation 

in the field of biotechnology.” 

For most Mexican pharmaceutical 

companies, an FDA approval 

means open doors, but for Silanes 

the process took eleven years. 

Socorro España Lomeli, executive director 

of ANAFAM the association of 

pharmaceutical manufacturers, believes, 

“When a company wants to export, they 

Headquarters: 

Amores 1304, Col. Del Valle 

México D. F., C. P. 03100 

Tel. (52-55) 5488 3700 

Manufacturing plant : 

Prolongación 6 Norte No. 200 

Parque Industrial Toluca 2000 

Toluca, Edo. de México. 

Tel. (722) 548 0770 

www.silanes.com.mx 

Providing the world with health solutions 

AND INNOVATION 



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are often blocked by bureaucratic red tape 

and regulations which makes it impossible. 

It is mainly the 

administrative processes 

that pose a 

problem, not the 

quality. This has 

been a big hurdle for 

Mexico in both entering 

the United 

States market, and 

Arístides Torres, 

some Latin American 

markets.” 

CEO, Vanquish 

Silanes has completed its learning curve, 

which leads Funes to conclude: “By the 

end of 2013 we hope to have two more 

products approved by the FDA, and we 

will then submit a further three. Now we 

know the mechanisms and the processes 

behind approvals, we can be more efficient 

and faster in complying with them. The 

long term outlook of Silanes is fantastic: 

we have patented products in biotechnology, 

with a plant that is FDA and soon to 

be EMA approved. We are ready to compete 

globally” 

Many other national companies are 

also exporting home-grown innovation. 

Guy Jean Savoir of Carnot Laboratories 

realized that their differentiated 

and innovative pipeline was 

essential to export success. 

“Today Mexico is a tougher 

market; you have to be aware 

of the added benefits of a differentiated 

product… When you 

export generics the only driving 

factor is price, which means you 

have to be very price conscious 

if you want to succeed and be 

competitive. This is not our business 

model—we have 130 people 

in Research and Development and we 

have decided that this is the side of the fence 

for us to be on. In fact, our differentiated 

pipeline was exactly what enabled us to 

successfully export and launch in different 

markets in the first place.” says Savoir. 

Luis Calderón, 

Managing Director, 

Stendhal 

His advice: “Don’t overlook Mexican 

innovation. Mexico is a place where multinational 

companies might want to come 

and find out what we are doing, and to 

take our products into markets where we 

are not capable of going by ourselves.” 

Vanquish is another local 

company not fazed in the least 

by this “bureaucratic red tape”. 

The company started manufacturing 

in Brazil through 

commercial partners in Latin 

America, and has already started 

exporting their nutritional 

supplements to the United 

States. 

“I think it is important to 

be in the main markets in America…if 

you want to be global, you need to think 

big. If we can be successful in the two 

biggest markets in Latin America, we will 

be on the radar for other companies who 

want to have a commercial partner with 

the muscle to make their products and 

brands successful.” says Arístides Torres, 

Vanquish CEO. 

Building Trust 

Other companies 

decided to stick to 

their strategy during 

these tough 

times and came out 

on top, due to the 

strength of their 

brands and the trust 

built up with the 

medical community. 

Liomont Laboratories, 

whose 

portfolio is 75% 

Alfredo Rimoch, 


Liomont 

prescription medicine, will celebrate 75 

years in the industry next year and is in 

the top ten rankings for prescription drugs 

in the country. Alfredo Rimoch, general 

director of the company, explains how 

they won through on trust and reputation. 

“Over recent years we have put particular 

focus on branded generics which we 

promote to doctors through a very strong 



FOCUS REPORTS



Mexico Report 

Mexico Report 

Family Business, Still Hot 

Figures show that 95% of Mexican 

businesses are still wholly 

family-owned and run. In fact, 

the family business could be 

seen as a ’base unit’ for Mexico’s 

economy. But with such a 

rapidly changing business environment, 

for how long will 

this hold true 

It seems there are many 

challenges to family-run companies, 

but perhaps they have 

more intrinsic benefits that may 

never have crossed the minds 

of those working for publicly 

traded firms. A recent article 

in the Economist suggested 

that family businesses may 

have longer-term vision and 

more solid growth because they 

don’t have to deliver ever-improving 

quarterly results to HQ. 

Family companies also have 

intimate local knowledge that 

no international company could 

match. 

This solidity and long-term 

vision is what Nicolás Rubió, 

attributes to his company’s survival. 

Industria Farmaceútica 

Andrómaco has been through 

some of the worst economic 

crises the country has seen. 

“The company was founded 

in Spain by my grandfather, and 

this year marks the 80th anniversary 

of Andrómaco in Mexico. 

In the 1980s, we went 

through an economic crisis and 

in order to survive, Andromaco’s 

operations downsized and my 

father focused on the company’s 

main product, Hipoglos, 

which enabled him to survive 

the downtrodden decade,” 

Rúbio says. The company came 

out of the crisis gasping for air, 

but ready to keep growing. It 

now holds 94% of market share 

with its strongest product, and 

is already exporting to the United 

States. 

Rodrigo Iturralde, corporate director 

of Randall Laboratories, notes that 

was essential for him to get a grasp 

of the business from an early age in 

order to make the best decisions for 

the business today. 

“We have been almost 60 years in 

the business, with the winning combination 

of experience and youth. I am 

31 years old and have been working 

in the company for eight years, which 

for me has been a great learning experience 

from the very beginning. I’ve 

learnt how to package medicine, how 

to sell it, how to talk with doctors, providers 

and distributors, and my whole 

family has always dedicated itself to 

the pharmaceutical industry.” 

Knowing the business so well, he 

concludes, is how they are able to stay 

flexible and form successful commercial 

partnerships. Randall Laboratories 

are “always looking for something 

better in the markets that correspond 

to our strengths as an organization.” 

Both companies, as all successful 

family enterprises, have had to make 

sacrifices in order to continue growing 

and keep up with the competitive 

environment. But one thing is for sure: 

they are part of Mexico’s social fabric, 

and here to stick around. 

Giving PATIENT NEEDS 

our highest priority. 

We provide NEW SOLUTIONS to unmet medical 

needs, in pain and beyond; by focusing on our 

core strenghts and being MARKET-ORIENTED. 

We are a partner of choice in Latin America 

with full regional coverage. Mexico is a 

growth driver with investment focus. 

We are preparing for aggressive growth 

– Our plan is to double sales by 2015 

– A significant portion relying on in-lincensing 

and other forms of inorganic growth 

– Strong track record as partner 

46% of sales come from in-licenced products 

We are interested in: 

– In-licensing existing or new products 

– Acquisitions 

– Open to other forms of strategic alliances 

Contact information for Partnerships: 

Business.DevelopmentMx@grunenthal.com 



21 

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sales force. We prepared well for the boom in pure generics, which 

took a lot of work, but we succeeded. Branded generics have existed 

for a long time in Mexico and we have worked for many years 

in promoting our vision of the company which is based on quality 

and trust through our services and our products.” 

Stendhal has based a large part of its business on in-licensing 

innovation from multinationals and building itself up to be the 

government’s partner of choice. That is not an easy task, especially 

when focused on the anti-retroviral market involving tricky 

negotiations with government healthcare institutions. The company 

has managed to maintain 25-30% yearly growth over the 

last two years and its products are now offered to 70% of HIV 

patients in Mexico. Luis Calderón, managing director of Stendhal, 

attributes this to their long-term attitude and quality. 

“Stendhal is not a company that looks for opportunistic business, 

by participating in a tender one year and disappearing the 

following year: we want to increase our market share sustainably 

and be in a place where we can adapt alongside the changing 

interests of the healthcare environment in order to increase 

patient share.” he explains. 

Maquila country 

Other companies have turned to contract manufacturing, an 

easier revenue generator as long as you have quality standards 

and long-term vision. In fact, many companies use contract 

manufacturing to provide the revenue needed to develop their 

own brand. 

This is the case with Biofarma Natural CMD, whose general 

director Ignacio Luna explains, “Creating a brand in Mexico involves 

many years of hard work and a lot of investment, and for 

us it has been much easier to simply generate revenue through our 

manufacturing strengths. We are proud of the fact that we are one 

of the only manufacturing plants in Mexico granted licenses for 

both medical products and herbal products. We have all the certificates 

and Good Manufacturing Processes (GMPs) that go with 

it. This attracts companies in the industry who are searching for 

high quality.” 

TOO MUCH TORTILLA 

According to the BMI’s Burden of Disease Database (BoDD), a few 

years ago diabetes represented 6% of all disability-adjusted life 

years (DALYs) in Mexico. This figure will continue to rise until 

more than 1.5 million DALYs are lost to the disease less than fifteen 

years from now. Local data indicates that more than a third 

of Mexicans who have diabetes are unaware that they are suffering 

from the disease. As it stands, diabetes represents about 35% 

of all Mexico’s public health spending, and data published suggests 

that there will be more than 13.5 million sufferers by the year 

2025. 

Diabetes is clearly Mexico’s biggest current health problem, 

which may be explained by the fact that Mexico is currently top 

in the world for child obesity, and number two for adult obesity. 

Although looking at increasingly popular eating habits in Mexico, 

the problem most likely isn’t too much tortilla. It is the highly 

westernized diet that has crept into Mexican society in the form 

of too many processed foods and far too many sugar-filled sodas. 

Joel Durán, director of marketing at diabetes specialist Novo 

Nordisk in Mexico, suggests that due to the sheer size of the 

problem, a solution backed by all stakeholders in the market 

needs to be found. 

“Given the speed at which diabetes is rising we need stronger 

collaborations and partnerships in order to change the mentality 

of the Mexican people. If we do not do this, we will not 

achieve the common goal of changing the face of diabetes and 

tackle the problem in the most effective way. We should beat diabetes 

before it beats us. That is our main concern—how can 

we make a change and how can we participate and provide knowledge, 

expertise, education, and be a factor of change in terms of 

finding a solution, to ultimately beat diabetes.” 

Not many people can disagree with that stance, but it may 

be easier said than done. 

The three largest social security institutions in Mexico; IMSS, 

ISSTE and Seguro Popular, run specific diabetes programs that 

include nutritional education and psychological support. They 

are also trying to include a wider selection of pharmaceutical 

treatments in an attempt to provide more comprehensive care. 



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But are these enough 

If combating diabetes requires a complete 

change in mentality for Mexicans, 

then it certainly is a tall order. It is far 

more achievable if the pieces of the current 

mentality puzzle can be put together 

and understood. Many people say that 

there is a social stigma surrounding diabetes 

and a dislike of anybody knowing 

that you have the disease. This would 

probably explain the high percentage of 

undiagnosed sufferers. Durán 

believes there is a strong emotional 

connection with food in 

Mexico because of the high proportion 

of family events that 

involve eating, and the thought 

of treatment might drag patients 

away from being able to 

participate. 

“This emotional connection 

is preventing a lot of patients 

from making small but crucial 

changes in diet and lifestyle 

habits that would enable better 

treatment compliance,” he explains. 

If mentality is the underlying cause of 

both under-diagnosis and non-compliance 

with treatment, it becomes even more important 

to break down barriers and to 

start to tackle this elephant of a problem. 

Carlos Baños, president and general director 

of Eli Lilly in 

Mexico believes, 

along with the majority 

of the industry, 

that education 

is essential for treatment 

compliance. 

This not only involves 

telling people 

Joel Durán, Marketing 

Director, Novo 

Nordisk Mexico 

about the disease 

and what they need 

to do, but tailormaking 

real educational 

solutions for society. 

“In Mexico the average person reads 

fewer than two books a year. This is a big 

challenge because we can produce the most 

beautiful material about how to manage 

diabetes, but achieve nothing because the 

materials have not been read.” One of Eli 

Carlos Baños, 

President and General 

Director, Lilly 

Mexico 

Lilly’s solutions to the problem is an educational 

tool called Diabetes Conversations 

Maps. 

“This tool was developed 

globally and adapted locally to 

adjust to the culture of Mexico. 

It is a game, similar to Monopoly, 

which helps teach people living 

with diabetes and their family 

all they need to know on the 

disease and how to care for themselves.” 

he continues. 

When it comes to 

diabetes treatments, 

the sharp increase of competition 

in the field has made brand 

loyalty more important than 

ever. Increasing compliance and 

making the physician’s life easier 

is essential. Education to ensure 

brand loyalty can often be 

seen in Mexico in the form of 

a trained nurse who spends 

more time with the patient than 

Carlos López Patán, 


Medix 

the doctor in the patients’ own homes, to 

show them how to use the treatment equipment, 

how to clean it and 

store it properly. A big investment 

on the part of the pharmaceutical 

companies, but 

brand loyalty for chronic illnesses 

seems to be worth it. 

Carlos López Patán, general 

director of Medix, the 

Mexican specialists on obesity, 

explains that for him, 

the key to success in providing 

obesity treatment lies in 

the provision of an entire catalogue of 

individualized services and products. 

“It is important to recognize the three 

phases in obesity treatment, the first step 

being diagnosis. The second step is to treat 

and manage the disease, and the last step 

is to maintain the healthy weight achieved 

by the completion of the first two steps. 

By creating products for each step in the 

process—the diagnosis, treatment and 

AUGUST 2012 

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23


Mexico Report 

Mexico Report 


maintenance—we are not just offering a 

product, but a holistic solution that addresses 

many factors in the equation,” 

says Lopez Patan. 

“Since we started reinforcing and developing 

this central model, we 

have been growing very rapidly: 

the annual average increase 

rate is 20%... we are number 

one in the private prescription 

market supplying almost 40% 

of the total units,” he continues, 

attributing the success to 

their integrated approach. 

Oscar Parra, 


Lundbeck 

It is not only diabetes and 

obesity that are increasing as 

Mexican lifestyles become 

more developed. The prevalence 

of CNS illnesses is also on the up. 

The more developed a society becomes, 

the more prone people are to illnesses 

such as depression. The WHO reports 

that the highest levels of growth in depression 

are coming from emerging markets 

like Mexico. Oscar Parra left Mexico 

eleven years ago and came back last 

year as general manager for Lundbeck 

Mexico, the CNS specialists. 

“I believe Mexican attitudes have 

changed a lot. When I left the 

country people were talking 

about depression as a weakness, 

and now people refer to it as a 

disease. Patients are much more 

likely to see a general doctor or 

a psychiatrist to talk about it 

now than they were ten years 

ago.” For pharmaceutical companies, 

CNS seems to be an area 

of true opportunity. 

“The CNS market in Mexico 

is growing much faster than 

the rest of the market: depression at 9%, 

Alzheimer’s at 16%,” continues Parra. 

Diabetes, obesity and CNS diseases are 

growing at a fast pace in Mexico, and the 

burden of indirect costs for these diseases 

is often higher than the treatment for the 

diseases themselves. Surely this means that 

with the right amount of education in the 

right place, governments should be waking 

up to the benefits of making access to 

treatment more available. As the stigma is 

slowly shaken off, more patients should 

also be willing to get diagnosed and comply 

with treatment. This combination 

makes a market ripe for picking. 

UNREACHED POTENTIAL 

According to industry data, the pharmaceutical 

sector represented 7.2% of Mexico’s 

manufacturing GDP last year. When 

compared to other manufacturing industries 

in Mexico, this is significant, but by 

no means in star place. 

The presence of foreign and local clinical 

research organizations (CROs) has 

also increased substantially over the last 

few years. This is both as a result of a recent 

tightening of regulations, and a sign 

that Mexico is becoming more strategic 

for foreign investors. 




z_AD Apotex HP_1-1.pgs 07.05.2012 04:55 

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Mexico Report 

Mexico Report 

But can we call Mexico a real ‘hub’ for 

the pharmaceutical industry 

This June, the 21st Convention of CAN- 

IFARMA was held in Merida in the State 

of Yucatan. The event culminated in defining 

the sector’s development plan concerning 

the coming period 2012-2018. The 

first phase defined 54 courses of action representing 

the strategic points that can empower 

the industry. The second phase was 

the integration of the industry’s first census 

in Mexico, delivered in Merida. 

The census concluded that of course it 

was necessary for the 186 companies that 

make up CANIFARMA to come together 

to turn the industry into an authentic generator 

of jobs, attractive for new investments, 

but with a special focus on manufacturing. 

Rafael Gual of 

CANIFARMA 

clearly states, “Our 

goal is to make the 

Mexican pharmaceutical 

industry the 

biggest manufacturing 

sector in Mexico 

Miguel A. Salazar, 


Boehringer Ingelheim 

Mexico 

over the next 5 to 6 

years. Currently 

pharmaceutical 

manufacturing represents 

7% of manufacturing 

GDP in Mexico, and we want 

to push it into first place.” 

In 2008 COFEPRIS abolished articles 

168 and 170 of pharmaceutical legislation, 

which meant that companies no longer 

needed a plant in Mexico in order to distribute 

their products in the country. Since 

then, five companies have entered the market 

without a Mexican manufacturing 

plant. This includes Spanish company Menarini, 

Daiichi Sankyo from Japan, and 

Swedish Meda Pharma. But it also resulted 

in several multinationals re-assessing 

their Mexican manufacturing strategies 

as plants were no longer required to be 

part of the market. 

Miguel A. Salazar, general director of 

Boehringer Ingelheim Mexico points out, 

“The pharmaceutical real estate market is 

getting crowded because everyone is selling 

their plants.” 

Facilities of Boehringer Ingelheim 

There are some obvious benefits in setting 

up a manufacturing hub for Latin 

America in Mexico, as compared to Brazil. 

Labor costs are significantly lower, it is 

geographically very strategic bordering the 

United States, and Mexico also shares a 

common language with most of the region. 

“In 1995, Boehringer Ingelheim wrote 

their manufacturing strategy and decided 

that Mexico was to be a center of excellence 

in terms of manufacturing, and the 

company invested more than 70 million 

USD in a new plant which would be one 

Taking care of your 

health, naturally. 

Your partner of choice for 

herbal medicines. 

of the manufacturing hubs for the rest of 

the world.” says Salazar, confident of the 

company’s award-winning plant located 

in the south of Mexico City. 

“Around 60% of our products are exported 

globally and 40% is local. We are 

focused on high quality and high delivery.” 

He continues. 

Along the same lines, Bertrand Baron 

of Sanofi comments, “Today we have three 

manufacturing sites in total and we strongly 

believe in increasing our business in 

Mexico… 80% of what we sell in terms 

of volume is coming from our local plant. 

I would be shooting myself in the foot if I 

withdrew our Mexican plant.” 

Despite these multinationals here to 

stay, how can the industry live up to Gual’s 

tough target of becoming the number one 

manufacturing sector for the country Socorro 

España Lomeli of ANAFAM strongly 

believes that the government should play 

a bigger role, especially when it comes to 

local companies. 

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Circuito de la productividad No. 105, Parque Industrial Guadalajara 

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www.biofarmalab.com.mx 



25 

black yellow magenta cyan z_AD BIOFARMA TP_1-1.pgs 07.12.2012 10:40 HCL Premedia


Mexico Report 

Mexico Report 


“I believe fiscal incentives are very important 

because they encourage industries 

to grow,” she concludes. 

These fiscal incentives have not only 

been suggested for manufacturing in Mexico, 

but also for research and development, 

specifically clinical trials. Mexico has traditionally 

been a strong choice for performing 

clinical trials due to the wideranging 

demographic and different 

climates. The combination gives rise to a 

sufficiently diverse patient pool. Moreover, 

due to the rapidly growing Hispanic population 

in the United States it will become 

more and more important to have a Mexican 

clinical subset in every trial. 

Salazar agrees: “There is not one single 

clinical trial in the company in which 

Mexico is not participating. It has allowed 

us to gain rapid approvals for products due 

to the preference given to clinical trials 

performed in Mexico with Mexican researchers 

and Mexican patients. COFE- 

PRIS is willing to give fast-track approval 

when they see Mexico getting involved.” 

Bertrand Baron concurs: 

“Last year we did 102 clinical trials in 

Mexico with almost 1,000 researchers participating 

in them. Mexico has been a significant 

participant in one of our most important 

R&D projects which is the dengue 

vaccine development. All of Sanofi’s research 

in [Latin America] is managed from here” 

However, Mexico has not seen as large 

an investment in clinical trials as it could 

have. Arturo Rodriguez, director of Mexican 

CRO, Infinite Clinical Research, believes 

it has to do with administrative inefficiency. 

“It now takes almost triple the time to 

get approvals, which sometimes means we 

lose out on clinical trials because customers 

move them to other countries, predominantly 

in Asia.” However, he admits that, 

“Today, the regulation process length can 

be attributed to the audit from the Pan 

American Health Organization, which 

spurred the harmonization with international 

guidelines, in turn making Mexico 

competitive on an international level.” 

Mexico will be holding the annual Latin 

American CRO Congress later this year: 

a key indication that they are taking a more 

active role in promoting clinical trials in 

the country. 

Can Mexico reach its so far unreached 

potential as a pharmaceutical production 

and clinical trial hub for Latin America 

Perhaps if we take the tightening regulatory 

environment, the imminent PAHO 

approval of COFEPRIS, and the stable 

economic situation, combined with relatively 

low labor costs and the geographically 

strategic position, things get more 

interesting. Put these factors together with 

the 186 CANIFARMA member companies 

joined in a common and determined 

goal… watch this space! 

PHARMA’S AFFAIR WITH PRIVATE LABELS 

When asked to define the three most impactful 

changes on the Mexican pharmaceutical 

industry over the last few years, 

executives put Seguro Popular and COFE- 

PRIS regulation in the lead. The third 

change is muttered perhaps a little more 

reluctantly. “The Point of Sale”. 

The truth is that the rise of large pharmacy 

chains is starting to hit the industry 

in big way. This is a fast-moving shift of 

control away from the pharmaceutical 

wholesalers, who have been the traditional 

torch bearers. It does not just change the 

dynamics of the industry today; it transforms 

the future dynamics of the pharmaceutical 

landscape. 

Pharmacy chains are gradually moving 

their purchasing ratio in favor of buying 

directly from pharmaceutical manufacturers 

as opposed to wholesalers. The manufacturers 

involved face opposition from 

wholesalers, but they can still see the potential 

benefits, and act on them. 

Farmacias del Ahorro, one of Mexico’s 

largest pharmacy chains, is starting 

to take warehousing and distribution into 

its own hands. It recently opened a large 

warehouse just outside of Mexico City 

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Mexico 

Mexico 

Report 

Report 

Roll Up your Sleeves! 

Recruiting and retaining fresh, entrepreneurial 

talent is a challenge that all 

Mexican pharmaceutical companies 

have to face. Given the rapidly evolving 

business environment, companies 

need rapidly evolving employees that 

are not daunted by a challenge. There 

is a strong talent pool in Mexico, but 

smaller companies face a bigger challenge 

without an internationally renowned 

company name and brand with 

which to attract good people in the first 

place. 

Young local company More Pharma 

is aiming to establish itself as the partner 

of choice for in-licensed innovative 

products coming from the United States 

and Europe. CEO Guillermo Ibarra explains 

what he offers potential recruits, 

the kind of person he looks for, and 

the challenges involved: 

How do you recruit the right talent when 

up against other young companies looking 

for the same people 

“The way I sell the company to any candidate 

is that when they are tired of 

big pharma; come to us. It is not a politically 

correct statement… but the 

Guillermo Ibarra, CEO (left), and his management 

team, More Pharma 

umbrella message is that when you 

are tired of lengthy and bureaucratic 

decision making processes and you 

feel better in an entrepreneurial environment; 

come to us. I don’t think there 

are good or bad companies, just different 

environments that fit different 

personalities.” 

“Any position within the company is 

a very entrepreneurial one, we don’t 

hire agencies or third parties, we do 

everything ourselves, it’s a hands-on 

business model.” 

What kind of recruit would most fi t 

More Pharma’s corporate philosophy 

“Every time we look for a new employee, 

we need someone who can react fast, 

take decisions, act swiftly and execute 

in an even faster changing environment. 

We look for people who will roll up their 

sleeves, and you can usually see this 

during the interview process.” 

If you have such well-trained and entrepreneurial 

staff, how do you stop 

them from walking away from More 

Pharma and joining another company 

“When you work in a large company, 

you need a ‘glue’ to make everybody 

stick to the same set of values, and that 

is a best practice we have adopted at 

More Pharma as well. Two years ago 

we defined and launched our set of core 

values, and launching these values 

meant a commitment from top management 

to each company associate. 

We believe in our culture and we want 

every More Pharma team member to 

live according to our values. This culture 

has helped us create passion for our 

company, increasing ownership of our 

growth plans. We have been able to increase 

employee’s satisfaction while 

improving overall company results.” 

and is planning to open two more in the 

coming years. 

“The most recently opened warehouse 

will account for 70% of the units that we 

buy directly; today we have a ratio of 

roughly 60/40 favoring direct purchasing 

from the pharmaceutical companies,” says 

Gabriel Zavala, the company’s commercial 

director. 

“The distributors will always be necessary 

in the future. But at the same time, 

we will be prepared for ongoing changes 

in the market with the infrastructure to 

support more laboratories if they wish to 

sell directly.” 

With more pharmaceutical companies 

selling directly to pharmacy chains and 

chain supermarkets, the niche of 3rd party 

pharmaceutical logistics has opened a little 

more. For companies that specialize in this 

area, the need to offer differentiated ser- 


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27


Mexico Report 

Mexico Report 


vices is a key factor in the ever more competitive 

environment. 

Mario Sicilia, CEO of 3 rd party logistics 

company BOMI Mexico tells us, “Our 

main competitive advantages are specialization 

and personalized relationships. 

The flexibility in the 

procedures that we offer is another 

relevant competitive advantage. 

We can adjust our 

accounts receivable, warehousing 

and shipping accordingly.” 

On the other side of the 

coin, opportunities are not just 

opening up in the private market, 

but in the public sector 

too. The number of Mexicans 

who benefit from public healthcare 

has doubled in the last decade causing 

a number of infrastructural problems 

within the system. 

Jorge Escalona, general director of 

Gabriel Zavala, 

Commercial General 

Director, Farmacias 

del Ahorro 

MAYPO, a pharmaceutical wholesaler that 

works exclusively with large government 

institutions explains, “In the past, all [government] 

institutions had their own infrastructure 

and were operating their own 

warehouses. Distributors merely 

had to deliver the products to 

the government warehouse and 

then the health institution would 

be in charge of delivering the 

products to the hospitals.” 

But since the growth of Seguro 

Popular, which has no 

physical infrastructure, the situation 

has changed. Government 

distributors have to provide 

a much more comprehensive 

service. 

“The suppliers and distributors now 

have to deliver to the hospitals directly – 

which means that when we used to have 

just one point of delivery, we now have hundreds. 

The second major shift is that in the 

past, the government was responsible for 

dispensing, whereas today it is the distributor’s 

responsibility. The government pays 

the distributors upon dispensing, and no 

longer upon delivery.” he continues. 

Not only are pharmacy chains buying 

directly from pharmaceutical companies, 

but a more visual change is taking place. 

Private label drugs have had a growth explosion 

in Mexico and are affecting the 

way both national and international companies 

operate. 

Hector Valle of IMS explains, “The 

national companies who used to sell to 

the government are now coming to the 

private market because of the price drop 

in the institutional sector. Now private 

labels give them a very good opportunity 

to do just that. This enables national companies 

to grow but also affects the brands 

from multinational companies as well.” 

Companies promoting their own brands 

to sell in retail stores, at the same time find 

themselves increasingly attracted to manufacturing 

private label goods for that very 

same point of sale. Pharmaceutical companies 

are ‘having an affair’ with private 

labels, but can they have their cake and 

eat it, too 

Local company Gelpharma is doing 

just that. Luis Verduzco, managing director 

of the company, realizes just how important 

private labels are to his business 

after producing primarily for the public 

sector. 

“The private market didn’t have the 

same level of uncertainty as the government 

market, so we changed direction. At the 

moment, we are giving higher priority to 

third party manufacturing for private labels 

because the relationships we are forming 

with pharmacy chains and supermarkets 

are extremely important. If we don’t 

make those relationships robust now, maybe 

in a couple of years there will be another 

company offering the same service and 

we will lose market share.” 

The core Mexican business of U.S. company 

Perrigo is to manufacture private label 

medicines. When compared to the United 

States or Europe, up until now Mexico 

S23 

28 August 

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2012 

FOCUS REPORTS



Mexico Report 

Mexico Report 

has been fairly slow on the uptake of private 

label products. But not only for pharmaceuticals. 

Ricardo Ganem, vice president 

and general manager of Perrigo 

Mexico, explains why it took 

so long. 

“For many years, store 

brands in general were all about 

putting a “cheaper” product 

next to the leader with focus 

on low prices, but often at the 

expense of quality. The stigma 

that private labels are low quality 

stayed in the mind of the 

Mexican consumer, but this 

has changed dramatically over 

the last several years.” 

Ricardo Ganem, 

VP and General 

Manager, Perrigo 

Mexico 

Ganem also notes that Mexico is the 

country with the highest brand loyalty 

index. He observes that this can be explained 

by studies on the monopolistic 

advertising structure favoring high-priced 

media such as television, for the last 60 

years. Ironically, this historical attrition 

to well-known brands is exactly what is 

helping to make private label generic medicines 

successful now. Mexicans feel confident 

buying own-brands from 

pharmacy and supermarket 

chains that they know and love. 

In August 2010, regulations 

prohibiting the sale of antibiotics 

in retail pharmacies were 

implemented by the health authorities, 

with the intention of 

reducing risk related to inappropriate 

usage of antibiotics 

and increased bacterial resistance. 

Retailers came up with 

a solution in the form of having 

a qualified doctor on site to avoid any 

problems, which also fuelled the intense 

rise of private label medicines. 

A recent study by IMS Health showed 

that the majority of Mexicans who use a 

doctor at the point of sale had used the 

service up to ten times previously. This is 

clear evidence of its popularity. The most 

common reasons for using a doctor present 

in a pharmacy were found to be convenience 

and low price; the perfect combination 

for a busy, working Mexican on 

a budget. 

So what next for the private label business 

at the points of sale Ganem is already 

thinking to the future and working 

on innovative ways to develop his customers’ 

products. 

“I’ll give it another three or four years 

before most retailers will have upgraded 

strategies in place with differentiated 

brands to satisfy specific consumer 

needs.” 

Zavala adds, “Many years ago power 

in the industry was in the hands of the 

pharmaceutical companies, a few years 

after that it was in the hands of the distributors, 

and today we have it in the points 

of sale.” 



29 


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Mexico Report 

INTERVIEW WITH: 

MIKEL ARRIOLA, FEDERAL COMMISSIONER, COFEPRIS 

It’s been one year since you 

were appointed as Federal 

Commissioner of COFEPRIS 

in March 2011. What have 

been the biggest challenges 

you’ve faced within this 

time 

The biggest challenge was to familiarize 

myself with the new agency. 

COFEPRIS regulates every sanitary 

risk relative to any industry- we regulate 10% of Mexican GDP, 

and 12% of Mexican international trade, and the most important 

challenge I faced when entering COFEPRIS was getting 

to know with whom I was dealing. There was a myth that this 

agency had to be administered by doctors or by people related 

to the medical or pharmaceutical business, and I came from 

the Ministry of Finance, so conceptually, that was the biggest 

challenge. 

However, the first physical challenge was facing the huge 

backlog of sanitary registrations. We had a great legal reform 

in 2005 that mandated the renewal of every drug registration 

in the market to ensure that we had only 2 types of medicines: 

generics and innovative medicines. This reform was crucial, 

but the government didn’t regulate this reform in administrative 

terms until 5 years later. Therefore in February 2010, when 

we had to face the deadline for renewals, we were not prepared. 

Under normal conditions, COFEPRIS receives 400 applications 

a month in terms of renewals and new registrations, 

and in February 2010, we received in a single month, more 

than 4000. This agency went into an administrative crisis, and 

when I arrived from the Ministry of Finance, had to deal immediately 

with the backlog. COFEPRIS issued 150 registrations in 

2010. Between March 2011 and March 2012, we issued 9000 

registrations, so I think we have met this challenge. We still 

have a lot to do but if you measure it in terms of value, those 

9000 registrations represent 1200 million USD. 

The other challenge was also to be very clear as to what we 

want in terms of pharmaceutical policy. Our pharmaceutical 

policy is to provide the patient – our main object of protection 

– with the best alternatives in the market. Therefore, we have 

to take out all the barriers to entry into the market to provide 

the best quality and the best prices. The COFEPRIS universe 

was unreadable and lacking priorities; we needed to set them 

and to reset communication with the whole industry. 

Another strategy was to establish access to medicines for all 

Mexican families – so we started to issue sanitary registrations 

for generic drugs. Before that, we didn’t have a strategy as a 

government regarding generics: we are the OECD country that 

spends the most on private health expenses, and the second 

worst in public spending. So since October, we have issued 

109 generic registrations, covering almost 60% of the diseases 

related to mortality of Mexican population, and saving since 

October 2011 until March 2012 around 100 million USD. We 

are expecting savings of 1000 million USD in private and public 

money during the following 4 years. 

What steps have you taken to actively change 

the reputation of COFEPRIS in the minds of the 

Mexican public, and in the pharmaceutical industry 

The COFEPRIS universe 

was unreadable and lacking 

priorities; we needed 

to set them and to reset 

communication with the 

whole industry. 


FOCUS REPORTS


Mexico Report 

We have to assume our 

position as a sanitary 

regulator, but also as an 

economic regulator, and 

build strong relations with 

the sectors we manage 

We have to generate predictability for the market, and send 

the right messages to our regulated industries, and by doing 

so, we are going to have a better set of alternatives for the 

consumer, hence protecting public health. We have to assume 

our position as a sanitary regulator, but also as an economic 

regulator, and build strong relations with the sectors we manage. 

For example, we are now holding monthly meetings with 

CANIFARMA to discuss a growth agenda for the market which 

has generated a lot of solutions. I invest a lot of my time receiving 

companies of all sizes and, I suppose, this is how the image 

of the institution has changed. We need to be the best for the 

health of the consumer and the industry can’t survive without 

a market; we can’t meet our objective to protect the consumer 

if we don’t regulate firmly but with a commitment to both 

industry and consumers. 

Latin American countries, including Brazil. We have the second 

best public deficit in the OECD region and Mexico is the 

third country in terms of inflation in Latin America, we have 

balanced trade, a strong framework of free trade agreements, 

and we have been open since the 1980s to capital markets. If 

you translate this to the pharmaceutical market, it means we 

have lost our first place in terms of market size, but we want 

to win it again! 

COFEPRIS should gain recognition from the 

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) before 

the end of the year, opening up the door for 

Mexican exports to Latin America. Which steps 

has COFEPRIS had to go through and which 

steps remain to gain this recognition 

In 2005 Mexico launched a project with PAHO to harmonize 

regulators in Latin America, however since June 2011, we 

started rebuilding our relationship with them, and decided 

to initiate the process of PAHO recognition. We had the first 

informal audit in August, and the second informal audit in 

December was much better with an 8.4 out of 10 result. I’m 

pretty confident we will receive certification this year, and if 

we do, we will have closed the circle in terms of modernizing 

of the agency and implementing the best practices required by 

PAHO. As a direct effect of PAHO recognition, our documents 

are going to be recognized by Brazil, Colombia, and other 

Latin American countries which will greatly empower our exporters 

and take a lot of transaction costs out of their balance 

sheets. It’s a very attainable goal. More importantly, COFEPRIS 

will be able to guarantee predictability, efficiency, safety and 

recognition by an external authority which is the fourth pillar 

in our work agenda. 

We have heard many times that the Government 

should start to see COFEPRIS not just as 

a quality controller, but as a promoter for Mexican 

exports. How do you achieve this 

This year I learnt that the Mexican pharmaceutical industry is 

an industry with great quality, and is a huge asset for the Mexican 

economy. If we can work with the industry to expand their 

opportunities to invest internally and externally, we are making 

a change for our country. We have to be creative, and build 

the best profile for the Mexican industry to be able to attract 

more investment and provide better opportunities. We have 

to create a more flexible market, and the best tool to create 

this is regulation. I want to be very aggressive in terms of gaining 

market share internationally. The Mexican government has 

built the best economic situation in terms of macroeconomic 

policies and our economic structure holds better than other 

What do you feel have been the most significant 

achievements of COFEPRIS since you have 

been in place managing the organization 

We designed a very specific strategy when we first arrived in 

COFEPRIS, and I think we have been quite successful in complying 

and enforcing it. Firstly, we had to reduce the backlog, 

and we have since then issued 9000 registrations. Secondly, 

we had to improve our regulatory framework and eliminate 

barriers to entry into the market, which was done by issuing 

109 generic registrations, suppressing the manufacturing 

plant requirement and building consensus around our regulations 

on biological products and bio-similars. Thirdly, we had to 

build international recognition, and we are in the process with 

the pending PAHO recognition. My conclusion is that we have 

a strategy to reinforce the Mexican market for the well-being 

of our patients and we are on the right path. 


31


Mexico Report 


PETER ERLBACHER, COO SPANISH LATIN AMERICA, ASPEN LABS 

What was Aspen’s original 

strategy behind the acquisition 

of their Latin American 

business through India-based 

Strides Arcolab 

Limited (Strides) How has 

it lived up to expectations 

since Aspen entered the 

market in 2007 

Initially Aspen’s 2007 transaction 

with Strides took the form of a 50/50 joint venture. We were 

looking for an opportunity to acquire an existing business that 

could provide a platform which we could really build on and 

that we could make the necessary changes to in terms of the 

business strategy. 

When Aspen moved into Latin America, we had already 

negotiated on a global basis with multinational companies 

like GlaxoSmithKline, and were therefore able to source global 

products that offered existing brand equity. This approach enabled 

Aspen to enter the Latin American market immediately 

and to gain credibility from the start of our private market 

operations. 

In 2009, Aspen started to implement a structure that would 

enable us to enter into the private ethical market, or the prescription-based 

business. That is where we started to build up 

our sales and marketing team. At the same time, we were 

launching a small portfolio of locally developed and manufactured 

branded generics. The combination of the two would 

provide a strong platform with greater brand recognition for 

future Aspen branded generics. 

Since then, Aspen Labs has performed incredibly well: we 

have delivered significant growth, more than trebling our turnover 

in the last three years. Organic growth is gaining momentum, 

and we are now securing new product registrations that 

were submitted through Aspen’s South African pipeline. 

Do you expect future growth in Mexico to come 

from Aspen’s own branded products 

Yes, so far most of this has come from our branded generic 

pipeline in South Africa while we identify appropriate local 

products to license. 

In each of the Latin American markets where Aspen has established 

a business, we have achieved success by transitioning 

from a hospital-focused and opportunistic market business, to 

a branded and promotion driven business; all of which provides 

for the prospect of future sustainable growth. 

Moving forward, will Aspen be focusing on 

their inclusive business model, or will it attribute 

more importance to manufacturing or finding 

new partners 

We want to keep the mix as it is in our inclusive business model, 

rather than run an exclusive model. We also have a local 

manufacturing facility which gives us a competitive edge in 

terms of local developments, tendered products and annual 

bidding with social security - IMSS and ISSSTE, whilst still considering 

business opportunities with ‘Seguro Popular’, where 

we have already worked with certain state level distributors. 

Many multinational companies are seeking opportunities 

in branded generics, and there have 

been several acquisitions by multinationals in 

recent years following this strategy. What is 

Aspen’s strategic plan to compete against such 

strong companies in the Mexican market 

Aspen’s pipeline from South Africa is based on generic products 

suitable for rapidly expanding therapeutic categories. Chronic 

degenerative diseases are becoming increasingly important in 

the Mexican market including diabetes and cardiovascular disease, 

which is primarily driven by obesity. 

Mature brands also offer significant opportunities which 


FOCUS REPORTS


Mexico Report 

validate Aspen’s activities in identifying tail end brands in different 

fast-growing segments. We are expanding our strategy 

for these products to ensure effective promotion to the doctor 

and at point of sale, which has become increasingly relevant. 

Aspen Labs has also plans to increase its activity in the overthe-counter 

(“OTC”) sector through a pharmacy team that will 

ensure increased Aspen presence in pharmacies. In April 2012, 

we acquired a portfolio of well-established OTC products from 

GSK, important not only for Mexico, but even more so for Central 

America. 

Promoting mature brands has been one of Aspen’s success 

stories as a Group - many territories across the Aspen business 

network have proven that they have the expertise and commercial 

capacity to extend the lifecycle of these mature brands 

and grow them. 

When Aspen entered Mexico, what was the image 

of the company The image we have is a 

South African company that was very strong in 

HIV. Was that concept brought to Mexico when 

you started 

We elected to introduce reputable brands acquired from GSK 

and MSD to the market, which we combined with Aspen’s local 

products. This approach has been beneficial to the Group. 

Establishing brand equity takes significant financial investment 

and time, and it’s fair to say that Aspen is not a household 

brand in Latin America as yet. Of significance though is that 

Aspen is acknowledged as the pre-eminent pharmaceutical 

manufacturer in the southern hemisphere and is being globally 

recognized for manufacturing and distributing high quality 

medicine at affordable prices - not only from a generic perspective, 

but also from an innovative product perspective. 

Something that represents 

a major challenge to all 

players in the branded 

market is the rapid growth 

of pharmacy chains and 

the rising level of generic 

substitution at the point of 

sale 

You said it was the people that make the difference 

in Aspen. What is your opinion of the talent 

pool in Mexico, and how well it fits with the 

company’s values, challenges and philosophy 

Mexico has a wealth of well-educated and hard-working people, 

and I think that level of commitment and talent is reflected 

across the different functional areas of our organization. We 

have a much more entrepreneurial approach and we expect 

our people to hold the same values and standards. We have a 

strong creative team with astute marketing expertise but also 

with a thorough understanding of the financials behind the 

product. 

The level of responsibility and empowerment that our local 

people receive is probably fairly difficult to find in a multinational 

company. We are fast at taking decisions, and they are 

well thought out with due consideration given to financial and 

risk exposure. 

Where do you see the challenging competition 

pushing the Mexican market in the next few 

years 

Something that represents a major challenge to all players in 

the branded market is the rapid growth of pharmacy chains 

and the rising level of generic substitution at the point of sale. 

Today, an increasing number of patients go to doctors operating 

inside the pharmacies, and no longer to traditional doctors 

if they know they just need a script for a product with which 

they are already familiar: and this trend will continue to grow. 

As a result, traditional independent pharmacies will get 

weaker due to the increased presence of the larger chains and 

their store brands. For the first time we see the traditional private 

ethical market decreasing in both values and volumes. 

This does not mean that the Mexican pharmaceutical market is 

shrinking as a whole; but it is nowadays primarily the ‘alternative 

market’ that is gaining importance and market share. 

You have been with Aspen for three and a half years. What 

can we expect from Aspen in Mexico three years from now 

Our focused growth strategy is to build up the Latin American 

business to be the third pillar in the Group alongside South 

Africa and Australia. 

Our objective is clear: we want to be among the top 20 

pharmaceutical companies in the near future, not only in Mexico, 

but also across Latin America. We are confident that this 

can be achieved - both as a result of our organic growth and 

also through acquisitions. To do it, we need to drive the organizational 

growth of our operations in Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela; 

establish and embed the Aspen culture; and retain the 

passion that the employees have for working at Aspen by ensuring 

due recognition for personal and professional growth. 


33


Mexico Report 


MIGUEL A. SALAZAR, DIRECTOR GENERAL 

BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM MEXICO 

You arrived to the position 

of General Director inMexico 

in 2010. What have been 

some of the most exciting 

milestones and achievements 

you have presided 

over during this time 

The first challenge was recognizing 

that the organization needed 

to be realigned with a totally different 

mind-set. Boehringer Ingelheim as a company started to 

change in 2008 with the realization that we had a pipeline of 

products offering huge opportunities in the market, and that 

would be ready for release at the same period of time: which is 

a luxury that doesn’t happen very often. I needed to align the 

Mexican organization accordingly. 

From the point of view of a research-driven organization, 

we truly believe that the level of leadership and entrepreneurship 

from the pharmaceutical industry has improved considerably 

over the last few years. My competitors are also my 

counterparts, and although we have products that are direct 

competition with each other, the reality is that we behave like 

colleagues and we are not afraid of speaking to each other. 

This creates momentum and strength when it comes to building 

the pharmaceutical industry into a very strong asset for 

the country. 

and Development is extremely competitive. This tells you that 

even though we are a privately owned company, we have the 

mind-set of an entrepreneurial public company. Worldwide we 

have a market share of 1.6%, and here in Mexico we have 

close to 4%, so this gives you an idea about how important 

operations are here. 

What strategies does Boehringer Ingelheim 

have to work with the government 

We do sell a lot to the government, and Seguro Popular is one 

of our fastest growing segments. The government has granted 

a faster access process for innovative drugs and although the 

pricing is very low, we get it back in volume so it’s a win-win 

situation for everyone involved. Seguro Popular is a great initiative: 

Mexico deserves a stronger and high quality public health 

system and the need for a new model has been met. 

We heard that one of the biggest changes in 

the industry over the last few years has been 

that the industry is being listened to more by 

the government. Do you agree with this 

Mikel Arriola has done more for the industry in one year than 

in the last ten. He has the endorsement of the pharmaceutical 

Could this change in the way of working within 

the Mexican pharmaceutical industry be 

the reason behind Boehringer Ingelheim being 

ranked 7th in Mexico, yet 15th globally 

I would attribute it to something that is even more powerful. 

This is a privately owned company, a company that has a 

long-term view; we are not pushed by the forces of the market 

which gives us tremendous stability and strength in our pipeline. 

On a global level, the amount we invest in our Research 

This creates momentum and 

strength when it comes to 

building the pharmaceutical 

industry into a very strong 

asset for the country 


FOCUS REPORTS


Mexico Report 

Seguro Popular is a great 

initiative: Mexico deserves 

a stronger and high quality 

public health system and 

the need for a new model 

has been met. 

industry, we feel listened to, and we feel we can trust him. 

Mexico lacks international marketing, and we usually only get 

bad foreign press- you don’t hear about the fantastic things 

that are happening here, but people are actually starting to 

consider the benefit of the patients on both the government 

and industry side. The innovation we plan today will be the 

opener for the generics in ten or fifteen years’ time. If there is 

no innovation there will not be any generics or broader access 

or better patient treatments. 

What new areas and strategies are planned for 

Boehringer Ingelheim Mexico in order to increase 

Mexican market share, both privately 

and institutionally 

We have always been strong in respiratory and anti-inflammatory 

treatments, and we have just entered cardiology, diabetes, 

anti-coagulation, virology, and cancer. For diabetes, anti-coagulation 

and cardiology we already have best in class products, 

and we have also just decided to explore immune diseases for 

conditions that could be vaccinated against such as malaria, 

but this is a long way down the pipeline. 

Mexico is still a country with a young population and an average 

age of 24-25 years, so treatments for young people remain 

extremely important. A tremendous problem with obesity 

arose which also drives the cardiovascular and diabetes market 

and we have just created a long-term alliance with Eli Lilly for 

at least four or five diabetes products; one of which is the 2nd 

most prescribed product for the condition in Mexico. 

Boehringer Ingelheim globally has invested a 

substantial amount in research and clinical trials. 

What do you think are Mexico’s qualities as 

a clinical trial hub over other Latin American 

countries 

It’s a greenfield; there is not one single clinical trial in the company 

in which Mexico is not participating. Right now we have 

more than 37 trials running for both current and future products, 

and it has allowed us to gain rapid approvals for products 

due to the preference given to clinical trials performed in 

Mexico with Mexican researchers and Mexican patients. COFE- 

PRIS is willing to give fast-track approval when they see Mexico 

getting involved. 

In Mexico we have a group of Mexicans leading teams in 

South America, which means we have centers of expertise 

here in Mexico leading research in, for example cardiovascular, 

for the rest of Latin America. 

There is a lot of contract manufacturing coming out of Brazil 

for Boehringer Ingelheim. What is the situation in Mexico 

In 1995, Boehringer Ingelheim wrote their manufacturing 

strategy and decided that Mexico was to be a center of excellence 

in terms of manufacturing, and the company invested 

more than $70 million USD in a new plant which would be 

one of the manufacturing hubs for the rest of the world. Since 

1995 we have been the only company approved by the FDA to 

export prescription medicines for human health to the United 

States, and we have manufactured and exported from here to 

the United States since then. Around 60% of our products are 

exported globally and 40% is local, and even part of the local 

production goes to third party manufacturing. We are focused 

on high quality and high delivery, and the executives who have 

worked in Boehringer Ingelheim for the last 20 years have created 

such a great reputation for Mexico in this sense, which 

actually allowed is to invest more. 

Having an FDA plant puts us in a very advantageous position; 

we have great cost benefit which enables us to compete 

against India, China, the United States and Europe. 

We asked Rafael Gual, general director of CANI- 

FARMA which companies, in his opinion, represented 

great corporate culture- and he told us 

Boehringer Ingelheim. What makes you stand 

out from other companies in this respect 

Boehringer Ingelheim has a clear family tradition, we are a 

privately owned company and we intend to remain like that; 

we give value through innovation, and that is our motto. We 

believe that leadership is about groups of people working together, 

and we try our hardest to empower them. The character 

of the company is made up of four different elements: 

trust; empathy; respect; and passion. When you speak to people 

working here, you will see that they have these four elements 

in common. We have 1,800 employees in Mexico, and 

every day we try to remind them who they are and why they 

are here: we are here to save the lives of millions of patients. 

Boehringer Ingelheim employees are extraordinary people, 

and by changing our individual square meter of space, we can 

change the world itself. 


35


Mexico Report 


CARLOS LOPEZ PATAN, DIRECTOR GENERAL, MEDIX 

Medix is a company focused 

on the treatment of obesity. 

With regards to performance, 

last year the company 

grew an impressive 

35%. How was this growth 

achieved 

We have always had a branch of 

products to fight against overweight 

and obesity but five or six years ago 

we turned it into our main business unit where we also integrated 

and consolidated the whole work of the company. 

Everything that we have been working on since 2007 was built 

and constructed around this concept- the integral management 

and treatment of obesity and being overweight. 

Since then we have been growing very rapidly: the annual 

average increase rate is 20% and the highest growth was 

close to 35%. We are #1 in the private prescription market 

supplying almost 40% of the total units, and almost 60% of 

the total number of prescriptions. Basically, we are the number 

one option for physicians in order to treat obesity. 

By creating products for each step in the obesity chain- the 

diagnosis, treatment and maintenance- we are not just offering 

a product, but a holistic solution that addresses many factors 

in the equation. 

Mikel Arriola told us that he doesn’t just see 

the COFEPRIS as a regulatory body, but an economic 

promotor. What are your thoughts 

I completely agree. When you talk to Mikel, the main idea 

he transmits is not only medical, but economical, and specifically 

how COFEPRIS can support the exportation of products 

and services. He says we need to regulate the pharmaceutical 

industry but at the same time to promote it. They are not opposite 

objectives; they are complimentary goals that can be 

achieved in conjunction with each other. 

Medix exports products to Argentina and the 

manufacturing plant has been certified by AN- 

MAT. What makes exporting so attractive for 

Medix 

We have been exporting products to Central America since the 

1990s and through a distributor. Now we are exporting more 

than products, we are exporting the model that I mentioned 

earlier which is the integral treatment and management of 

obesity. In general, governments are anxious to have viable options 

to combat obesity, and exporting the model has seemed 

to work opening the doors in South America. Although we are 

able to export this concept of a complete model, it is very important 

to consider the uniqueness and characteristics of every 

country. If you try to export the Mexican model to Argentina 

you might not succeed because every country is different. 

In order to achieve this ‘tailor-made’ approach, Produmedix 

Internacional Argentina needs to establish relationships with 

the authorities in that country in order to understand how 

things operate, and especially regarding health cost investment 

and social services. The aim is to integrate their interests 

with ours to achieve a complete and flexible model for each 

country. 

Everything that we have 

been working on since 2007 

was built and constructed 

around this concept- the 

integral management and 

treatment of obesity and 

being overweight. 


FOCUS REPORTS


Mexico Report 

Diet, nutrition and exercise are extremely important but 

there are also several psychological, social and environmental 

factors to consider when looking at treatment in a certain 

country. These can range from working conditions, food type 

availability in your area, home conditions, and education. It 

would be impossible to recommend a treatment without taking 

those factors into consideration. 

How have you perceived the change in public 

and Government opinion towards obesity and 

its treatment in the last few years 

In Mexico we have tried to create awareness surrounding overweight 

and obesity. The problem is the lack of general access 

to the tools required to fight against it effectively and as a 

result, Mexico is #1 globally for childhood obesity and #2 for 

adults, and growing! 

We need to find out why people do not have a minimum 

level of activity in their life. Diet and exercise are part of the 

treatment but not the whole solution. 

At the end of the day, responsibility needs to come from 

the patient to adhere to treatment, but while the cost in terms 

of finance is enormous, they usually require external help and 

analysis from an expert. Globally, governments have been getting 

increasingly involved in creating awareness amongst the 

population but not necessarily offering the very best solutions. 

It’s a work in progress. 

Does Medix have any awareness projects running 

in conjunction with the government, 

or with doctors, in order to increase obesity 

awareness 

Firstly, we have to educate. Secondly, the nutritional options 

available in schools need to be improved. Much of your personality, 

habits and beliefs are developed during school years, 

and good nutrition is key. On top of that if we create a welleducated 

society, people will start to demand a higher quality 

of food and in turn industry will have to supply it and provide 

a wider range of nutritional options. 

We also train and teach about obesity in higher-education 

institutions. We have a specialized 120 hour course for institutions 

and companies across the country that discusses purely 

overweight and obesity. We also finance medical training in 

universities and teach professionals to take a holistic approach 

when it comes to overweight and obesity, instead of simply 

isolating specific physical problems to do with comorbidities. 

We are also working with partners in the area of meals, which 

helps but it is not the final solution: education and habits are 

the solution but it is not a short process. 

Companies also need to support the treatment of overweight 

and obesity by starting with their own employees, and 

we have a Medix team dedicated to this. If you reduce obesity 

levels by 5% within a company you will get happier and more 

productive employees, all for a very low investment. 

What particular awareness programs do you 

have in Medix 

We have a program called Medix Light. Two years ago we received 

an award from the government for having the best program 

of this kind, not in the pharmaceutical industry, but in all 

industries. We are going to receive another award this year for 

the same program. 

Medix Light was an in-house initiative that we now use as 

the model for implementing in other companies. As part of our 

culture, the idea is to combat overweight and obesity using an 

integral approach within the company. 

Medix has received a series of awards for being a socially responsible 

company; can you tell us a little bit more about this 

Yes, we have achieved recognition for being a Socially Responsible 

Company for the last seven years. We also received 

the National Technological Award which was granted by the 

President for having high quality integrated technological 

practices for a medium-sized company. 

Social responsibility within a company is very important in 

the sense that is not only a declaration but the core of the organization. 

It is an essential part of each and every successful 

business in today’s world, and the way to integrate correctly 

and effectively with society. 

You mentioned in a previous interview that 

2012 would be a decisive year. What exactly do 

you mean by decisive 

In the next five years the market itself will also grow and we 

will be integrating new products, not only medications, but 

partnering with other companies in order to have meals and 

diagnosis equipment. We cannot make every product, but we 

can form strategic partnerships to provide the pieces of the 

puzzle that are missing. This will help us to become the number 

one option for overweight and obesity treatment in both 

Mexico and Latin America. 

If you could define your overriding philosophy 

on one sentence, what would it be 

Fighting against obesity means that you are also contributing 

to society, and I believe you need to create value for society in 

order to make a business. 


37


Mexico Report 


MARKUS KRENZLIN, COUNTRY MANAGER, SHIRE 

Please can you give us a 

rundown of Shires activities 

in Mexico in the last 

four years, and the key 

achievements and milestones 

along the way 

Shire started operations in Mexico in 

2008 and we have had a compound 

growth rate of almost 100 percent 

per year. We are doing this by focusing 

on a segment of the market that has always been there, 

but only now are people actually receiving the treatment. 

I think that Mexico has a great attitude towards orphan 

drugs. The Mexican authorities are very conscious of the various 

niche problems that exist for patients across the country 

and have been very open in making orphan drugs available to 

them. This is why Shire has been able to establish itself here 

and make treatments available to patients. Over the past two 

years we have been able to get four products onto the market, 

three of which are available in the public health system: one 

for Hunter’s Disease, another for Fabry Disease, and the third 

that was approved last year is for Gaucher´s Disease. 

There was a change to general health law in Mexico published 

on February 29th. Article 224 has been amended so that 

it both recognizes that there are orphan diseases, and that 

there are orphan drugs to treat them. In essence it means that 

the Ministry of Health has to support the development of the 

diagnosis and treatment of these diseases. I think this opens up 

considerable possibilities, and if you look at the social issues in 

Mexico then you can see this is a huge step forward. We have 

now cases with people living in very poor and remote areas 

that are getting treated with a biotechnology product. 

But doesn’t Seguro Popular just cover the basic 

needs of the population. How did you manage 

to get orphan drugs under the umbrella 

The Seguro Popular covers basic needs but it has also very 

important programs for catastrophic diseases such as certain 

type of cancers. It’s true that our products are not cheap, but 

they are providing great value to patients and their family and 

the society overall by really enabling people with life threatening 

diseases to lead better lives. In addition to the authorities’ 

The situation in Mexico seems different from 

Brazil where some patients have had to fight 

in court in order to receive their treatment. Has 

this ever happened in Mexico 

We know there are patients in Mexico that have legally fought 

for access to their drugs, but now there is no need to take legal 

action. Together we made access possible for orphan drugs 

simply through dialogue with the authorities. 

A great example is Seguro Popular, which provides one 

of our treatments – for Hunter Disease – to patients under 

10 years of age. These are very poor patients whose families 

would never be able to afford a biotechnology drug in order 

to be treated privately. 

The Mexican authorities 

are very conscious of the 

various niche problems that 

exist for patients across 

the country and have been 

very open in making orphan 

drugs available to them. 


FOCUS REPORTS


Mexico Report 

Only 10-15 percent of 

the theoretical disease 

population have been 

diagnosed 

awareness on the problem, there are also a number of very 

active and well organized patient organizations who, through 

dialogue, have been able to open up the doors to get these 

approvals. 

Do you think there is enough awareness for the 

diseases you are treating in Mexico, amongst 

both the public and the physicians 

Awareness is definitely a problem: if you look at prevalence 

or incidence data and how many patients have been either 

identified or are on treatments, you will find figures indicating 

that only 10-15 percent of the theoretical disease population 

have been diagnosed. This means there are a large number of 

patients in need of our treatment but not receiving it. 

Even though there is not a high level of awareness, it is difficult 

to do any big campaigns because these diseases are so 

rare. There are maybe 250 cases in the whole of Mexico, so we 

need to deal with awareness differently. We usually manage 

awareness through supporting medical education programs 

or through supporting the patient associations because they 

know the families and the patients, which helps them to handle 

the problem more effectively. We are also doing continuous 

support to physicians for diagnosis, but even though we are 

trying to play our part it is very difficult as many of the patients 

live in extremely rural areas, and Mexico is a huge country. 

Will the growth of healthcare from the government 

aid this awareness issue 

Yes I believe so. We are already in discussions with the authorities 

on how we can support them and provide training and information 

to the parties involved. At the end of the day Shire is 

a company that enables patients with difficult and life-threatening 

diseases and their families to live much better lives. 

Angus Russell, the CEO of Shire worldwide said 

Shire is different because its employees care 

about what they do and what they are working 

for. How has that corporate philosophy shaped 

Shire Mexico 

It is all about people, and it starts with hiring the right people 

who come to us for the right reasons. Shire is a company attractive 

to a certain breed of employees who are really looking 

to make a difference in patients’ lives. People come and work 

with us with the expectation of truly helping people, and here 

they will have the opportunity to do so from the very beginning. 

This might sound slightly strange, but sometimes it is not really 

about business, it is about getting people onto treatments. 

The impact for the patient is so huge, not just physically, but 

for their entire social environment which exactly is what drives 

us to overcome any difficulties along the way. 

How difficult is it to attract the right talent and 

successfully recruit in Mexico 

Finding the right talent is very difficult in any market, and Mexico 

is especially a complicated market in terms of talent. On 

top of that we need to find the right talent with the mindset I 

just described, which makes it even harder. You need to put in 

a great deal of effort and resources to identify the right people, 

and after being 10 years in the market here I’ve seen that 

there is a huge pool of young, very well prepared, and very 

well-oriented professionals who are the right people for Shire. 

Where can we expect to see Shire in five years’ 

time 

At the moment we just do Human Genetic Therapies (HGT) 

here in Mexico, but there are two more business units one of 

which specializes in Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder 

(ADHD) and Gastrointestinal (GI) which are about to be 

launched here rather soon, and the third business unit is regenerative 

medicine. So we expect establishing full Shire operations 

in the country in the mid-term. 

In your opinion, what makes Shire stand out 

from the rest of the pharmaceutical crowd 

We at Shire are committed to delivering value to all our stakeholders 

and that is not just a corporate phrase. Shire in Mexico 

is dedicated in becoming a partner to the authorities, to the 

patient associations, and to all stakeholders in the market segment. 

Shire globally has a BRAVE culture, and we strive to do 

better every day. We are patient-orientated and that is the 

reason I am working here. You cannot imagine the impact of 

knowing that a patient gets treatment and a transformed life 

because of you. 


39


Mexico Report 


ALFREDO RIMOCH, DIRECTOR GENERAL, LIOMONT 

Please can you tell us more 

about Liomont as a company 

Liomont will be 75 years old next 

year and over recent years we have 

put particular focus on branded generics. 

Branded generics have existed 

for a long time in Mexico and 

we have worked for many years in 

promoting our vision of the company 

which is based on quality and trust through our services and 

our products. Doctors that rely on the quality of our products 

always choose us, and because there has been so much confusion 

surrounding the concept of generics, many doctors still 

cannot rely on the quality of pure generics. 

In 2008, only 5% of Liomont business came 

from the institutional market. Have you seen 

more growth opportunities over the last few 

years now that the Government has prioritized 

health coverage 

The situation with government sales varies from year to year 

and relies purely on price opportunities because that’s the only 

element that is valued by the government in Mexico. Personally 

I don’t think it is the best strategy for them because it 

has created a lot of problems in terms of product availability. 

When you rely solely on price, a company can win a tender 

but might not be prepared to manufacture and deliver the 

products in a timely manner, which then creates a big problem 

for the Government in terms of product availability. Then that 

forces the Government to purchase products at a much higher 

price, outside of the tender organization. 

How much does Liomont export, and do you 

see this as a future growth strategy 

In terms of value, our export is worth about 5% of our business, 

but 8% in terms of volume. We export some of our OTC 

products mainly to the Hispanic market in the United States, 

mainly California and Texas. We are also in the process of 

entering the United States generics market through a local 

partner and have several Abbreviated New Drug Applications 

(ANDAs) pending. One month ago we were inspected by the 

European authorities and obtained the GMP certificate for the 

Europe, since then we have already filed our first ANDAs in 

Spain, Italy, France, Sweden and Germany. We have a strong 

partnership with a Spanish company Pensa Pharma, which is 

the generic brand of Esteve. 

What kind challenges has Liomont faced entering 

the Unites States, and do you expect to find 

the same challenges entering the European 

market 

The real challenge lies in documentation and bio-equivalency 

compliance. We had to carry out bio-equivalence tests outside 

of Mexico because the requirements are slightly different to 

here. There has been a policy of automatic recognition by the 

We are in the process of 

building a new research 

and development facility 

which will be one of the 

largest research centers 

in the country to be 

inaugurated in 2012. 


FOCUS REPORTS


Mexico Report 

I see Liomont more and 

more as a global companythe 

world is getting too 

small to rely solely on the 

local market. 

Mexican authorities to products which are registered by the 

FDA which I personally believe does not make for loyal competition. 

When it comes to recognizing drug registrations from 

other countries, I would agree with automatic registration, but 

only if there is mutual recognition which I think is a process 

that the authorities should seek and aim for. 

All the countries in South and Central America are very different, 

but which are the most important markets for Liomont. 

At present we have expanded specifically in Guatemala, El 

Salvador, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, the Dominican Republic 

from where we distribute to the Caribbean, Venezuela is 

also one of our strongest markets, and finally Chile. 

Where do you see the future for Liomont in Research 

and Development, where will you be positioned 

in the coming years 

For many years at Liomont it has been very clear for us that 

it is the way to go. We know we are not going to discover 

new molecules in the short-term, but we do carry out a lot of 

clinical research in terms of developing new formulations and 

combinations, dosage forms, uses of medicines and delivery 

systems. We are in the process of building a new research and 

development facility which will be one of the largest research 

centers in the country to be inaugurated in 2012. 

Do you think there is a sufficiently large talent 

pool in Mexico on the side of scientists Do you 

ever have problems recruiting the right people 

I think there are very good scientists in Mexico, but for the 

industry it has been very difficult to find the right people that 

have the right philosophy in terms of science combined with 

business. There is a lot of talent in some of the academic research 

centers, but do not have the mind set to work in industry. 

In an academic environment you get incentives through 

the number of publications, whereas in industry it is important 

to be able to patent the research or product, and when you 

publish something, it instantly loses the opportunity of being 

patented. 

Liomont has a very strong corporate culture 

and has been awarded for its Corporate Social 

Responsibility many years in a row. How has 

that helped to shape Liomont’s culture and 

growth 

Liomont has a very strong culture of social responsibility at its 

core, which originated from the founders of the company. Our 

founder was very concerned about “easing human pain”- the 

company took it quite literally and it has been incorporated 

into the company’s mission statement ever since. 

We are Distintivo H and ISO 9001 certified, we received the 

CONCAMIN award for outstanding implementation of ethical 

values every year from 2005 until today. We have received 

two Best Corporate Practice awards from CEMEFI, and the ESR 

award for being a socially responsible company seven years in 

a row. 

In terms of social projects, we have been awarding children 

from secondary schools for carrying out environmental projects 

in their area for the last 12 years. We have also joined 

up with UNICEF since 1999 in order to carry out projects such 

as Friendly School, where we bring basic educational aid to 

small schools in very poor rural areas of Mexico. We are also 

carrying out a campaign in health centers across the country 

for parents on how to stimulate their children’s learning from 

a very early age, and working on a project where we provide 

inserts in our paediatric products that give tips to parents on 

the same subject. We also have a campaign that helps with the 

treatment of infectious and parasitic diseases in very remote 

areas of the country where we provide the treatment for free. 

When we come back in 2016, where will Liomont 

be positioned in Mexican, and global 

pharmaceutical market 

I see Liomont more and more as a global company- the world 

is getting too small to rely solely on the local market. Overall 

the main growth of the company is in our export sales which 

are growing at a rate of 16%. We have truly international 

standards in the company and we base our growth on quality 

and trust. 

We have received […] 

the ESR award for being 

a socially responsible 

company seven years in a 

row 


41


Mexico Report 


GUY JEAN SAVOIR, GENERAL DIRECTOR, CARNOT LABORATORIOS 

Techsphere is celebrating 

70 years as a company. 

Please can you describe to 

us in your own words the 

evolution of the Mexican 

pharmaceutical industry, 

and the most impactful 

changes for the company 

In 2008 you could find a market that 

was extremely healthy, from 2008 

until now there have been a lot of changes that significantly 

impacted the industry, both regulatory, financially and internally. 

Between 2002 and 2008 the Mexican industry committed 

price abuse and year after year there were price increases 

of around 25%, which was a huge mistake. It was possible at 

the time because Mexico didn’t really have a generics law: you 

had non-generics and you had ‘similares’ that were targeting 

a different segment of the population. As a result of these 

prices increases, the public started having problems with outof-pocket 

expenditure which became a significant incentive to 

change things. 

In 2008 we had a really big problem with the global crisis 

pushing Mexico into a very difficult economic situation, which 

had a strong impact on the population’s power of acquisitionhence 

the draw towards generics. 

The last thing that happened was the change in regulation; 

Mikel Arriola in COFEPRIS has been very hard at trying 

to make it work by understanding the needs of the people, 

the needs of the industry and matching them into something 

that actually gives results, and the generics law was passed 

allowing the public to find quality interchangeable generics at 

reasonable prices. 

The compounding of those three events generated aggressive 

growth in the generics market: probably more aggressive 

than in Brazil and the United States, and as a result the private 

prescription market ended up losing a lot of business, generating 

difficult times. 

Today you have to be extremely price conscious when you 

launch a product on the market, you have to be aware of the 

added benefits of a differentiated product. 

Was the massive boom in generics what 

prompted Carnot to look more closely into foreign 

markets 

In short, yes. I had started the export side of the business in 

2002 and proposed that we needed to diversify the company’s 

risk and seek markets outside of Mexico, because our current 

operations were unsustainable in the long run. 

We also have 130 people working on Research and Development 

in the company which gives us the potential to have 

differentiated products, giving significant protection against 

generics because we have patent protection allowing the 

higher revenues to continue growth and investment in further 

Research and Development. 

So those are our two strategies: to seek export markets and 

continue releasing innovative products that meet currently unmet 

needs in the local market. 

Today you have to be 

extremely price conscious 

when you launch a product 

on the market, you have 

to be aware of the added 

benefits of a differentiated 

product. 


FOCUS REPORTS


Mexico Report 

If exporting to foreign markets is one of your 

major strategies, four years ago you were entering 

Argentina and Colombia, but what is the 

situation now regarding export activity in Carnot 

So far we are in Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, we have a joint 

venture in Brazil and Argentina, and a new subsidiary in Venezuela. 

Plans that used to be just good ideas in the past are now 

operating and functioning today, and in those markets there 

is good, healthy growth with an increasing middle class and 

growing purchasing power. Brazil is the next big one for us, 

and Venezuela is the next medium-sized market to tackle, both 

of which we are more confident about after having successfully 

entered and operated in other Latin American countries. 

We are also going to transfer our export model outside 

of Latin America and we are currently looking for partners in 

North Africa, non-EU Eastern Europe, Middle East, South East 

Asia and West Africa. 

Talking about differentiation, four years ago 

you were in the process of getting the licenses 

to sell one of your unique fertility products in 

the United States and Canada. How has that 

progressed 

We closed that license with Ferring Pharmaceuticals and they 

will launch the product for us in North America- right now 

we are going through the regulatory process. The product was 

launched in Mexico and we are selling it right now; it’s a success. 

Also in our line of delayed-release injectable medicines, like 

our fertility product, is the lowest dose of hormonal replacement 

therapy that is available on the market. It contains a mix 

of P4 Progesterone and B17 Estronil, which is exactly what 

doctors are asking for. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) 

is needed in order to prevent Osteoporosis and for women’s 

general health, but it needs to be given at the lowest dose 

possible. Our HRT is a twenty times lower dosage than the 

current oral HRTs which is a significant safety benefit, and we 

are looking for partners for this next big licensing agreement. 

What do you think are Carnot’s most attractive 

qualities are in order for it to have been proven 

a good partner in business 

We have got good differentiated products with a world-class 

quality system, and we have the flexibility to price our products 

in a way that allows us to access developing markets. 

Why do you think that other Mexican companies 

have not chosen to go abroad and export 

more outside of Central America 

They are starting to take that leap forward and if you look at 

the industry right now, there are many companies doing so. 

We were all late to do it, it’s just that we were ‘less late’ that 

the others! 

Do you feel there is enough work being done in 

the academic institutions in Mexico to homegrow 

talent across the board 

I’ll break it into two parts- for the Research and Development 

we are doing a lot more work with the institutions now than 

we were a few years ago which is great. We are happy that we 

can have agreements with them on various product developments. 

On the export and logistics side, the problem is that 

universities don’t have anything specific and it is something 

that has developed as an industry need. The idea is to start 

generating our own seeds of talent from within and create 

Export managers, Logistics managers and Area managers that 

have the capacity to do a great job. 

Where do you see Carnot positioned in five 

years from now, both in Research and Development 

and also going international 

We currently have an intensive Research and Development 

program planned for the next few years with some new additional 

new technologies being developed. I also see the ability 

to license our technology platforms to other countries. This 

includes delayed-release injectable microsphere technology; 

orally dissolving delayed-release capsules; and an innovative 

platform for inhalable products. 

On the international side, I expect to see us as a very wellplaced 

company in all of the important Latin American markets, 

and a company that has a significant distribution network 

outside of Latin America. 

What would be your defining message about 

the Mexican pharmaceutical industry and the 

potential it holds 

Don’t overlook Mexican innovation because there are some 

important technological developments being managed here by 

local laboratories. Quite a few companies here are working on 

innovation in a big way, and Mexico is a place where multinational 

companies might want to come and find out what we 

are doing, and to take our products into markets where we are 

not capable of going by ourselves. 


43


Mexico Report 

Exclusive interviews 

More interviews available on www.pharma.focusreports.net: 

Ana Cristina Mirassou, 

Biotechnology Manager, 

Grupo IFACO 

Angel Sosa Hurtado, 

Director General , Octapharma 

Mexico 

Aristides Torres, CEO, 

Vanquish 

Aurelio Martinez, General 

Manager Mexico, CA & 

Caribbean, Cegedim 

Bertrand Baron, Director 

General, Sanofi Mexico 

Carlos Banos, President and 

Director General, Lilly Mexico 

Dagoberto Cortes, General 

Director, Hormona 

Dr Juan Francisco Millan 

Soberanes, Director General, 

CETIFARMA 

Gabriel Zavala, Commercial 

General Director, Farmacias 

del Ahorro 

Guillermo Funes 

Rodriguez, Director General, 

Silanes 

Guillermo Ibarra, CEO and 

his management team, More 

Pharma 

Hector Avila, General 

Manager, CECyC Pharma 

Héctor Carrillo, General 

Director, Apotex Mexico 

Héctor Valle, General 

Manager North Latin America, 

IMS Health 

Israel Garcia Crespo, 

General Manager, Almirall 

Mexico 

Jaime Uribe, Probiomed 


FOCUS REPORTS


Mexico Report 

Joel Duran, Marketing 

Director, Novo Nordisk Mexico 

Jorge Escalona Theurel, 

Director General, MAYPO 

Karel Fucikovsky, General 

Director Mexico & Central 

America, Pierre Fabre 

Médicament 

Luis Calderon, Managing 

Director, Stendhal 

Luis Verduzco, General 

Director, Gelpharma 

Nicolás Rúbio, Vice 

President, Industria 

Farmacéutica Andrómaco 

Norbert Oppitz - Senior 

Vice President Latin America, 

Nycomed, A Takeda Company 

Oscar Parra, General 

Manager, Lundbeck Mexico 

Rafael Gual Cosio, Director 

General, CANIFARMA 

Ricardo Alvarez-Tostado, 

President and Director 

General, AstraZeneca Mexico 

Ricardo Ganem, VP and 

General Manager, Perrigo 

Mexico 

Rodrigo Iturralde, 

Corporate Director, Randall 

Sergio Duplan, Country 

President and General 

Manager, Novartis Mexico 

Timothy Daveler, VP and 

Director General, MSD Mexico 

Tomas Bordonaba, General 

Manager, Grünenthal de 

Mexico 


45


Mexico Report 

For more interviews with 

leaders of the global 

pharmaceutical industry, 

go to 

pharma.focusreports.net 


FOCUS REPORTS


Mexico Report 

Company directory 

Government 

COFEPRIS 

Monterrrey 33 

Col. Roma Norte 

México 

06700 

Distrito Federal 

MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5080 5200 

CONACYT 

Avenida Insurgentes Sur 1582 

Col. Crédito Constructor 

México 

03940 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5322 7700 

Consejo de Salubridad 

General 

Lieja 7, Piso 2 

Col. Juárez 

México 

06600 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5062 1648 

IMSS 

Paseo de la Reforma 476 

Col. Juárez 

México 

06698 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5211 2874 

ISSSTE 

Avenida de la República 154 

Col. Tabacalera 

México 

06030 


MEXICO 

+1800 001 2007 

ProMexico 

Camino a Santa Teresa 1679 

Col. Jardines del Pedregal 

México 

01900 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5447 7070 

Secretaría de Economía 

Alfonso Reyes 30 

Col. Hipódromo Condesa 

México 

06140 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5729 9100 

Secretaría de Salud 

Lieja 7 

Col. Juárez 

México 

06600 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5062 1600 

Seguro Popular 

Gustavo E. Campa 54 

Col. Guadalupe Inn 

México 

01020 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5090 3600 

SEPROE Jalisco 

López Cotilla 1505, Edificio 

SEPROE, Piso 9 

Col. Americana 

Guadalajara 

44140 

Jalisco 

MEXICO 

+52 (33) 3678 2000 

United States FDA 

Sierrra Nevada 115 

Col. Lomas de Chapultepec 

México 

11000 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5028 5400 

Associations 

and 

Foundations 

AFMAC 

Nicolás San Juan 1511 

Col. Del Valle 

México 

03100 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 9183 2060 

AMELAF 

Alfonso Esparza Oteo 144 


México 

01020 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5662 2014 

AMIIF 

Avenida Cuauhtémoc 1481, 

Piso 1 

Col. Santa Cruz Atoyac 

México 

03310 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5688 9477 

ANAFAM 

Avenida Cuauhtemoc 1481 


México 

03310 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5601 3082 

CANIFARMA 

Avenida Cuauhtemoc 1481 


México 

03310 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5688 9477 

CETIFARMA 

Avenida Cuauhtémoc 1481, 

Piso 3 


México 

03310 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5688 9477 

Funsalud 

Periférico Sur 4809 

Col. El Arenal Tepepan 

México 

14610 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5655 9000 

INMEGEN (Institute for 

Genomic Medicine) 


Col. Arenal Tepepan 

México 

14610 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5350 1900 


47


Mexico Report 

Pharmaceutical 

Companies 

Abbott Laboratories 

Calzada de Tlalpan 3092 

Col. Coyoacán 

México 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5809 7500 

Allen Laboratorios 

Avenida Instituto Politecnico 

Nacional 4728 

Col. Tlacamaca 

México 

07380 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5587 0955 

Allergan 

Avenida Santa Fé 505, Piso 11 

Col. Cruz Manca Santa Fé 

México 

05349 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5999 8502 

Almirall 

Periférico Sur 3325, Piso 1 

Col. San Jeronimo 

México 

10200 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5999 8600Amgen 

Avenida Vasco de Quiroga 

3000, Piso 4 

Col. Sante Fe 

México 

01210 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 4424 4600 

AMSA Laboratorios 

Las Flores 56 

Col. La Candelaria 

México 

04380 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5421 6550 

Apotex 

Damas 120 

Col. San José Insurgentes 

México 

03900 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5482 9000 

Armstrong Laboratorios de 

México 

División del Norte 3311 

Col. Candelaria 

México 

04380 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 3000 1531 

Asofarma 

Avenida Periférico Sur 5358 

Col. Olímpica 

México 

04710 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5424 8500 

Aspen 

Monte Elbruz 124, Piso 4, 

Oficina 401 

Col. Palmitas 

México 

11560 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 9126 0860 

Aspid Pharma 

Bélgica 518 

Col. Portales 

México 

03300 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 2595 0970 

AstraZeneca 

Periférico Sur 4305, 5th Floor 

Col. Jardines en la Montaña 

México 

14210 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5374 9600 

Baxter 

Presidente Masaryk 111, 

Piso 4 

Col. Polanco 

México 

11570 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 9126 5000 

Bayer 

Boulevard Miguel Cervantes 

Saavedra 259 

Col. Granada 

México 

11520 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5728 3000 

Beaufour Ipsen 

Calle Lafayette 94, Colonia 

Anzues, Mexico DF 11590 

México 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 3640 2100 

Biofarma Natural CMD 

Circuito de la Productividad 

105 

Parque Industrial Guadalajara 

El Salto 

45690 

Jalisco 

MEXICO 

+52 (33) 3836 4570 

Boehringer Ingelheim 

Maiz 49 

Xochimilco 

México 

16090 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5629 8300 

Bristol Myers Squibb 

Avenida Revolución 1267 

Col. Tlacopac 

México 

01049 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5337 2800 

Carnot Laboratorios 

Heriberto Frias 1035 


México 

03100 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5488 7000 

Daiichi Sankyo 

Avenida Manuel Ávila 

Camacho 76, Piso 9 


México 

11000 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 9178 7647 

Dermaceutical México 

La Quemada 240 

Col. Piedad Navarte 

México 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5579 2869 

Eli Lilly 

Barranca del Muerto 329 


México 

03900 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 1719 4500 

Farmasa Schwabe 

Búfalo 27 


México 

03100 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5200 2680 


FOCUS REPORTS


Mexico Report 

Ferring 

Avenida Nemesio Diez Riega 

Mza. 2, Lote 15, No. 15 

Col. Parque Industrial Cerrillo 2 

Lerma 

05200 

Estado de México 

MEXICO 

+52 (728) 284 7140 

Fresenius Kabi 

Paseo del Norte 5300 

Guadalajara Technology Park 

Zapopan 

45010 

Jalisco 

MEXICO 

+52 (33) 3540 7855 

Galderma 

José María Ibarrarán 20 


México 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5593 4353 

Gelpharma 

Avenida Paseo del Pacifico 410 

Technology Park 

Zapopan 

45010 

Jalisco 

MEXICO 

+52 (33) 3777 4770 

Genomma Lab 

Avenida Santa Fe 495 

Col. Cruz Manca Santa Fé 

México 

05344 


MEXICO 

01800 717 1305 

GlaxoSmithKline 

Calzada México Xochimilco 

4900 

Col. San Lorenzo Huipulco 

México 

14370 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5483 8300 

Grunenthal 


Col. Arenal Tepepan 

México 

14610 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5641 4488 

Grupo IFACO 

KM 22.5 Carretera 

Guadalajara-Morelia 

Tlajomulco de Zuniga 

45640 

Jalisco 

MEXICO 

+52 (33) 3283 0000 

Grupo Roche Syntex 

Cerrada de Bezares 9 

Col. Lomas de Bezares 

México 

11910 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5258 5000 

Hormona 

Boulevard Adolfo Lopez 

Mateos 314 - 2 

Col. Tlacopac 

México 

01049 


MEXICO 

+52 (5)5 5481 5600 

Hospira 

Prolongación Paseo de la 

Reforma 1015, Torre A, Piso 20 

Col. Desarollo Santa Fe 

México 

01376 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 3067 4300 

IFA Celtics 

Periférico Sur 3325, Torre 

Corum Piso 6 

Col. San Jerónimo Aculco 

Magdalena Contreras 

México 

10400 


MEXICO 

+52 (777) 329 9800 

Industria Farmacéutica 

Andrómaco 

Boulevard Manuel Ávila 



México 

11000 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 9178 7558 

Industrias Suanca 

Nogal 64 

Col. San José de los Cedros 

México 

05200 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5813 2000 

Janssen Cilag 

Miguel Angel de Quévedo 247 

Col. Romero de Terreros 

México 

04310 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5484 2300 

Keton 

Lago Xochimilco 65 

Col. Anahuac 

México 

11540 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5341 9751 

Laboratorios Kener 

Paseo de los Tamarindos 400, 

Torre Poniente Oficina 7A 

Col. Bosques de las Lomas 

México 05120 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5095 4940 

Laboratorios Sanfer 

Boulevard Adolfo López 

Mateos 314, Piso 1 A 

Col. Tlacopac 

México 

01049 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5481 5400 

Laboratorios Senosiain 

Andrés Bello 45, Piso 21 

Col. Polanco Chapultepec 

México 11560 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5280 4999 

Laboratorios Servier 

Paseo de las Palmas 830 PH 


México 

11000 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5520 3119 

Laboratorios Sophia 

Paseo del Norte 5255 

Guadalajara Technology Park 

Zapopan 

45010 

Jalisco 

MEXICO 

+52 (33) 3001 4200 

Laboratorios Valdecasas 


Col. Tlalpan 

México 

14000 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5573 5256 

Landsteiner Scientific 

Boulevard Adolfo Ruíz Cortinez 

4124, Torre 2A, Piso 8 


México 01900 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5449 3690 


49


Mexico Report 

Liomont 

Adolfo Lopez Mateos 68 

Col. Cuajimalpa de Morelos 

México 

05000 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5814 1200 

Lundbeck 

Avenida Insurgentes Sur 1605, 

Torre Mural, Piso 28 


México 

03900 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5062 6900 

Manuell 

Jarcieria 237 

Col. Morales 

México 15270 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5795 2212 

Mavi Farmacéutica 

Puente de Xoco 35 

Col. Xoco 

México 

03330 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 1084 2502 

Meda Pharma 

Pico de Verapaz 435 - 302 

Col. Jardines en la Montaña 

México 

14210 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 3089 2720 

Medix 

Calzada de Hueso 39 

Col. Ex-Ejido de Santa Ursula 

Coapa 

México 

04650 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5096 2200 

Medley 

Avenida Universidad 1738 


México 04000 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5484 4400 

Menarini 

Periférico Sur 4118 - 102, 

Edificio Zafiro Torre 1 


México 

01900 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5020 7000 

Merck 

Calle 5 No.7 

Naucalpan de Juárez 

México 

53370 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 2122 1600 

Merz 


Torre de los Parques, Piso 15 


México 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 9140 0650 

Moksha8 


Arcos Bosques 1, Torre 1, Piso 

14 


México 

05120 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 3601 3676 

More Pharma 

Ejercito Nacional 926, Int. 203 

Col. Los Morales Sección 

Palmas 

México 

11540 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5557 3388 

MSD 

Avenida San Jerónimo 369 

Col. La Otra Banda 

México 

01090 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5481 9708 

Nafar Laboratorios 

Periférico Sur 8565 B, Int 2 

Col. El Mante 

Tlaquepaque 

45609 

Jalisco 

MEXICO 

+52 (33) 3188 9009 

Nordin 

Paseo Lomas Altas 292 

Fracc. Lomas del Valle 

Zapopan 

45129 

Jalisco 

MEXICO 

+52 (33) 3642 3030 

Novartis 


Col. San Diego Churubusco 

México 

04120 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5628 6700 

Novo Nordisk 

Montes Urales 715 


México 

11000 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5002 6686 

Nucitec 

Comerciantes 15, Nave 3 

Col. Peñuelas 

Querétaro 

76148 

Querétaro 

MEXICO 

+52 (442) 220 6424 

Nycomed, a Takeda 

Company 

Avenida Primero de Mayo 130 

Col. Industrial Atoto 

México 

53519 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5387 9330 

Octapharma 

Calzada Mexico Tacuba 1419 

Col. Argentina Poniente 

México 

11230 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5399 5644 

Opko 

Avenida del Niño Obrero 651 

Col. Chapalita Oriente 

Zapopan 

45040 

Jalisco 

MEXICO 

+52 (33) 3121 2761 

Perrigo 

Mariano Escobedo 476, 

Torre Polanco 

Col. Nueva Anzures 

México 11590 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5340 2235 

Pfizer 

Paseo de los Tamarindos 40 


México 

05120 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5081 5800 

PharmaService 

Calle 3 #28 

Zona Industrial Benito Juárez 

Querétaro 

76120 

Querétaro 

MEXICO 

+52 (442) 312 2712 


FOCUS REPORTS


Mexico Report 

Pierre Fabre 


Camacho 191 

Col. Los Morales Polanco 

México 

11510 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 2122 3703 

Pisa Farmaceutica 

Avenida España 1840 

Col. Moderna 

Guadalajara 

44190 

Jalisco 

MEXICO 

+52 (33) 3678 1600 

Pro Ventas 

General Leon 40 

Fracc. Lomas del Valle 

México 11850 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5515 2821 

Probiomed 

San Esteban 88 

Col. Santo Tomas 

México 

02020 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5352 3122 

Psicofarma 


Col. Toriello Guerra 

México 

14050 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 8503 8900 

Randall 

Lago Rodolfo 58 

Col. Granada 

México 

11520 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5545 0088 

Rayere 

Emiliano Zapata 72 

Col. Portales 

México 03300 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5532 6020 

Rimsa 

Camino a Santa Teresa 1040, 

Piso 5 

Col. Fraccionamiento Jardines 

en la Montaña 

México 

14210 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5449 9900 

Sanofi 

Avenida Universidad 1738 


México 

04000 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5484 4100 

Shire 


Torre 1, Piso 7 


México 05120 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5081 0120 

Siegfried Rhein 

Bosque de Alisos 47 - B 


México 

05120 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 1055 2600 

Silanes 

Miguel Laurent 427 

México 

03100 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5488 3700 

Solfran Laboratorios 

Altos Hornos 2721 

Col. Industrial el Álamo 

Tlaquepaque 

44490 

Jalisco 

MEXICO 

+52 (33) 3666 1423 

Stendhal 

Avenida Camino a Santa 

Teresa 1040 

Col. Jardines de la Montaña 

México 

14210 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 2000 6630 

Stern Pharma 

José María de Teresa 65 

Col. San Ángel 

México 

01000 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5616 4651 

Streger 

KM 8 Antigua Carretera 

Xalapa-Coatepec 

Consolapa 

Coatepec 

91500 

Veracruz 

MEXICO 

+52 (228) 8160 330 

Teva Pharmaceuticals 

Pasaje Interlomas 16, Pisos 2 

y 5 

Col. San Fernando La 

Herradura 

México 

52784 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5950 0262 

UCB 

Homero 440, Piso 7 

Col. Chapultepec Morales 

México 

11570 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 9159 6868 

Unipharm 

Calle de la Amistad, Lote 3 

Col. Los Reyes Industrial 

México 

54073 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 1500 9080 

Valeant 


Col. Parque San Andrés 

México 

04040 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5062 4800 

Vanquish 

Calle 9 Este 235, Planta Baja 

Col. Civac 

Jiutepec 

62578 

Morelos 

MEXICO 

+52 (777) 3261042 

CRO 

Infinite Clinical Research 

Calle Florencia 65, Piso 6 

Col. Cuauhtémoc 

México 

06600 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5514 9439 


51


Mexico Report 

Third 

Authorized 

Parties 

CECyC 

Amores 320 


México 

03100 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5682 2752 

TAPVS 

San Francisco 1384, Torre C , 

Planta Baja 


México 

03200 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5575 2301 

Service 

Providers 

Baker & MacKenzie 




México 

11000 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5279 2900 

Olivares & Cia 

Pedro Luis Ogazon 17 

Col. San Angel 

México 

01000 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5322 3000 

Cegedim 



México 

01020 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 9172 1201 

IMS Health 


Piso 5 

Col. Tizapán 

México 

01090 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5062 5200 

Knobloch Information 

Group 

Rio de la Plata 53, Bis-101 

Col. Cuauhtémoc 

México 

06500 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5286 0600 

Warehousing, 

Distribution 

and Retail 

Bomi de México 

Avenida Industria Automotriz 

128 

Parque Industrial Coecillo 

Toluca 

50246 


MEXICO 

+52 (722) 249 2002 

Corporativo Fragua 

Avenida Enrique Díaz de León 

261 Norte 

Col. Villaseñor 

Guadalajara 

44600 

Jalisco 

MEXICO 

+52 (33) 3669 3333 

DHL Express México 

Avenida Fuerza Area Mexicana 

540 

Federal 

México 

15700 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5345 2000 

Farmacia San Pablo 


Piso 19 


México 

03100 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5354 9001 

Farmacias Benavides 

Avenida Fundadores 935, Int. 

301 

Col. Valle del Mirador 

Monterrey 

64750 

Nuevo Leon 

MEXICO 

+52 (81) 8150 7700 

Farmacias del Ahorro 


Piso 23 


México 

03900 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5322 4320 

Farmacias Similares 

Alemania 10 

Col. Independencia 

México 

03630 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5422 4500 

Fármacos Nacionales 

Doctor Pasteur 93 

Col. Doctores 

México 

06720 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5134 2100 

Federal Express Holdings 

México y Compañía 


2999, Piso 1 

Col. Peña Blanca Santa Fe 

México 

01207 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5228 8100 

Grupo Casa Saba 

Paseo de la Reforma 215 


México 

11000 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5284 6600 

Grupo Fármacos 

Especializados 

Querétaro 137 

Col. Roma 

México 

06700 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5265 2300 

MAYPO 

Periférico Sur 4118, Edificio 

Zafiro Torre 1, Piso 8 


México 

01900 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5000 0150 


FOCUS REPORTS


Mexico Report 

NADRO 


3100 

Col. Centro de Ciudad Santa Fe 

México 

01210 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5292 4343 

United Parcel Service (UPS) 

Almacén Fiscalizado 21 

Aduana del Aeropuerto 

International Benito Juárez 

México 

15520 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5228 7981 

Press 

Diálogo Ejecutivo 

Patricio Sanz 1582 


México 

03100 


MEXICO 

+52 (55) 5061 3500 


53


Mexico Report 

COMPANY INDEX 

Ache Labs................................................... 19 

ANAFAM.............................................. 20, 26 

Apotex......................................................... 9 

Aspen Labs.......................................... 16, 17 

AstraZeneca........................................... 8, 14 

Biofarma Natural CMD............................. 22 

BMI....................................................... 12, 22 

Boehringer Ingelheim Mexico.................. 25 

BOMI.......................................................... 28 

CANIFARMA............................... 8, 11, 25, 26 

Carnot Laboratories............................ 19, 20 

CECyC Pharma........................................... 13 

Cegedim Mexico, CA & Caribbean........... 10 

COFEPRIS.....................7, 8, 10-14, 19, 25, 26 

Daiichi Sankyo........................................... 25 

Eli Lilly........................................................ 23 

Farmacias del Ahorro................................ 27 

Gelpharma................................................. 28 

Grünenthal de....................................... 9, 10 

Grupo IFACO.............................................. 12 

Hormona Laboratories.............................. 13 

IMS Health............................... 13, 18, 28, 29 

Industria Farmaceútica Andrómaco......... 21 

Infinite Clinical Research.......................... 26 

Liomont Laboratories......................... 20, 22 

Lundbeck................................................... 24 

MAYPO....................................................... 28 

Meda Pharma............................................ 25 

Medix................................................... 23, 24 

Medley....................................................... 16 

Menarini.................................................... 25 

More Pharma............................................. 27 

MSD............................................................ 17 

Novartis..................................................... 17 

Novo Nordisk....................................... 22, 23 

Nycomed.................................................... 18 

Octapharma......................................... 17, 18 

Perrigo....................................................... 29 

Pierre Fabre Medicament................... 17, 18 

Probiomed................................................. 12 

Randall Laboratories................................. 21 

Sanofi............................................. 16, 25, 26 

Seguro Popular.......................... 7, 23, 26, 28 

Shire Mexico.............................................. 10 

Silanes.................................................. 19, 20 

Stendhal..................................................... 22 

TAPVS......................................................... 12 

Vanquish.................................................... 20 


FOCUS REPORTS


Mexico Report 

PAST REPORTS 


55


Mexico Report 

email: info@focusreports.net 


FOCUS REPORTS

Pharma report

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