Linking National,International Suppliers for Business Developmenr

Q: How does Trifermed contribute to Mexico’s healthcare sector?
A: We have two business approaches: portfolio development and partnership development. The portfolio business approach targets companies already established in one or several markets that want to grow organically within that region. We help them find products to incorporate into their portfolio after canvasing the company’s existing product offering to fully understand how the company operates. We then establish the company’s product requirements and look for international partners that can supply them.
In the partnership development model, a client, often a small or midsized company, has an asset that it wants to export to other parts of the world but it lacks the necessary financial resources. For instance, we successfully helped a company in Holland that had a diabetes product it wanted to bring into Mexico.
Q: What are the main market opportunities for Trifermed in Mexico?
A: We are seeing growth potential in several product areas, including generics. Many companies, for example, are looking for more specialized generics for oncology. Other new areas include nucleic acid therapeutics, protein therapeutics, bioelectronics and wearables. Some Big Pharma companies are already developing comprehensive solutions. For instance, companies with products for chronic degenerative diseases such as cancer combine them with diagnostic products to offer a comprehensive solution to the doctor and the patient.
Another area that is attracting attention is the genetic mapping of diseases. In the next few years, patients will start receiving medicines according to their genetic profile. Personalized medicine is still far away but it is important for companies to start thinking about it because it will play a fundamental role in the future. Rare diseases are another area of interest.
The combination of research and genetic mapping can allow doctors to better understand how rare diseases function in a particular patient and even cure them.
Q: What main barriers to access do foreign companies run into when seeking to enter the Mexican market?
A: The most common barrier is getting products approved, and COFEPRIS is aware of this. COFEPRIS is a sophisticated organization and has adapted its processes to the needs of the Mexican population. It is now considering accelerating the approval of generic products to increase access and keep up with the innovative products the market needs.
Mexico also has challenges that are not present in other parts of the world. In some parts of Europe and Canada, for instance, medical assistance is administered by the government and a significant number of available products are sold through a reimbursement system that does not exist in Mexico. The challenge is to explain to foreign companies how the Mexican market works. When a company wants to bring a product to market, it must consider not only prices, but also regulations. Some companies believe that understanding US or European regulations is enough to obtain an approval in the Mexican market but that is not the case.
Q: What are the specifics of your main services for the Mexican market?
A: We work closely with those clients that want to enter the Mexican market, validating their business model and helping them understand how the market works. We do not provide market research but we consult with local companies to see which one might be a good match for our client. In this way we have helped foreign companies find partners in Mexico.
We also work with Mexican companies to help them move export their products. One example is Laboratorios Armstrong, which we helped to export its product for head lice called Herklin to the US. In this case, we found a partner in California that specialized in importing Latin American products for the Hispanic population in the US.