Five Years at BIO: Mexico Gaining Ground in Global Biotech

For many years, Mexico has discussed the importance of strengthening its biotechnology and life sciences ecosystem. The country has important assets: a strong pharmaceutical industry, growing capabilities in clinical research, manufacturing, medical devices, and biotechnology, as well as universities and research centers with scientific talent.

However, having these capabilities is not enough. Mexico also needs to be present where the global life sciences industry meets, builds partnerships, and makes investment decisions. This is why the continuous participation of Mexico at the BIO International Convention is becoming increasingly relevant.

Every year, BIO brings together more than 20,000 leaders from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, investors, governments, universities, and research organizations from more than 60 countries. It is much more than a scientific conference. It is one of the main international platforms for business development, investment, technology cooperation, and international positioning in life sciences. 

Five Years of Building a Mexican Presence

Mexico has maintained a national presence at BIO since 2022. During five consecutive editions, more than 60 different Mexican organizations have participated, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, CROs and CDMOs, universities, technology transfer organizations, clusters, and government institutions. 

Continuity matters.

International positioning cannot be built through one event or one business mission. Companies and ecosystems need to return, develop relationships, and demonstrate that they are interested in becoming long-term partners. This evolution was particularly visible at BIO 2026 in San Diego.

The MEX BIO Pavilion brought together 24 Mexican organizations and a delegation of around 40 representatives. The participating organizations represented different parts of the Mexican life sciences value chain, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, clinical research, intellectual property, manufacturing, innovation, and business development. The numbers also illustrate an important business activity. Mexican companies reported 366 meetings through the official BIO Partnering platform. In addition, many conversations took place directly at the Mexican Pavilion with companies, investors, governments, and international organizations. 

But perhaps the most relevant result was not only the number of meetings. Mexico started to participate more actively in the international conversation. During BIO 2026, the Mexican presence included 14 MEX BIO Talks covering topics such as pharmaceutical manufacturing, clinical research, artificial intelligence and biotechnology, investment attraction, precision medicine, and North American integration. 

Mexican representatives also strengthened connections with life sciences ecosystems from Canada, California, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and Catalonia, while developing links with delegations from countries including Japan, South Korea, France, and Brazil. This is important because Mexico should not present itself internationally only as a market. Mexico can also position itself as a partner.

What Can Mexico Bring to the Global Life Sciences Industry?

The international environment creates an interesting opportunity. Companies are looking for new manufacturing locations, more resilient supply chains, clinical research capabilities, and access to qualified talent. Mexico combines several of these elements. The country already has pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities, CRO and CDMO services, clinical research infrastructure, and an important scientific and technical base. Its geographical position and integration with North America provide additional advantages. 

The challenge is to communicate these capabilities internationally and transform visibility into projects. This requires companies willing to explore international markets, but also collaboration between industry, government, academia, and organizations supporting innovation.

One of the positive developments in San Diego was precisely the increasing interaction between these actors. A working session held during BIO brought together government institutions and representatives of the Mexican life sciences ecosystem to discuss regulation, clinical research, investment attraction, internationalization, and innovation. This type of dialogue should continue beyond the convention.

Philadelphia 2027: The Next Step

The next BIO International Convention will offer another opportunity to increase Mexico's presence. For Mexican companies, BIO should not be seen simply as another international exhibition. It is a platform to find partners, clients, investors, and technologies, but also to understand how the global industry is evolving.

The experience accumulated during the last five years provides Mexico with an important starting point. The objective now should be to bring more companies into this internationalization process and, at the same time, improve the quality of their participation. Companies need to arrive prepared: with clear objectives, international value propositions, identified partners, and structured agendas before the convention begins.

Mexico has already demonstrated that it can have a visible and continuous presence at BIO. The next challenge is to transform that presence into more international partnerships, investment, technology transfer, and business. Philadelphia 2027 should therefore not only be the sixth consecutive year of Mexico at BIO. It should be the next step in building Mexico's position as a relevant life sciences partner for North America and the world.