Clinical Innovation Only Counts If Accessible

The accelerated development of ‘miracle’ COVID-19 vaccines was a result of compounding advances in clinical research. Having bypassed the most acute phase of the pandemic, health institutions and laboratories are resuming or pursuing new areas of clinical research that stand to benefit from greater public investment, especially if Mexico wants to move away from production and towards development.

“Extracting added-value, however, is contingent on an institutional effort to make resulting medicines and treatment accessible,” said Florencia Davel, Vice President for Latin America and General Manager of the Center of Excellence for Distributor Markets, Bristol Myers Squibb.

Traversing the medical health industry is the overarching, collective goal to accelerate patient access to quality healthcare. To accomplish this, clinical research has, is and will continue to play a central, public role in its realization.

Mexico’s investment in healthcare is about seven times higher than its investment in the aerospace industry and almost three times more than in the technology industry. Healthcare investments “have also generated direct employment for 93,000 people,” said Davel.

Industry leaders and public health figures aim to mold the future of Mexico’s healthcare system by improving the quality of manufacturing, the fluidity of supply chains and interoperability. All of these efforts are and should be tied with an ambition to foment accessibility to individualized care as a preventative mechanism. To accomplish this, industry leaders and public health professionals are looking to advance Mexico’s status as a producing country to one of innovation so that medicines can be adapted to the needs and reality of its population.

Concerted financial investment towards clinical research has the potential to accelerate this ambition and, most importantly, help save or lengthen the lives of millions, which will have a direct impact on Mexico's productive capacity and competitiveness. “Since the late 1940s to early 1950s, life expectancy has increased dramatically and if we want to continue augmenting it, clinical innovation accompanied by timely, individual treatments will be essential,” said Davel.

Clinical investigation in the last years has generated talent, direct and indirect employment and investment in clinical studies and research. Every dollar invested in clinical research generates four times the cost-savings for the medical system, according to multiple studies. In other words, clinical research alleviates pressure, both for Mexico’s medical system and for patients. “This established, I would like to make a call to action: Mexico needs to foment the development of a more robust clinical research sector,” said Davel.

Bristol Myers Squibb puts forward some pillars to guide this next transformative phase in Mexico, starting with greater diversity and inclusion in clinical studies, which require the development of proper institutional mechanisms. The second is greater institutional coordination between all stakeholders in Mexico’s healthcare system. The third is building an ecosystem based on collaboration, which aims to harness and encourage the interdisciplinary collaboration known to produce more holistic care.