Mexico Continues to Attract Pharma Investment

Celebrating its 100th anniversary in Mexico, multinational company Bayer announced the investment of US$358 million during the next three years in its pharma, consumer and agriculture divisions under the slogan “Health for all, no one hungry.” The investment will be supported by additional events and national campaigns.

In addition to these efforts, Bayer announced it will strengthen its overall investment in its global pharmaceutical divisions to ensure sustainable competitiveness and support the transformation of its pharmaceutical business.

Through its eight manufacturing plants and 10 research centers, Bayer employs over 5,000 in Mexico. In the pharmaceutical market, Bayer’s drugs often top sales charts for OTC and prescription medicines, especially in the cardiovascular disease, women's health care, ophthalmology and radiology markets. Its Consumer Division offers free-access products for daily health care, with a broad and solid portfolio that includes over 50 medicines in six categories: allergies, flu, dermatology, digestive health, nutrition and analgesics.

Mexico’s attractiveness for this type of investment has made it the second largest pharmaceutical market in Latin America and a major producer of high-tech medicines, including antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and cancer treatments.

The industry represents an average of 1.2 percent of Mexico’s GDP and 7.2 percent of the manufacturing GDP. The overall pharmaceutical market in Mexico is valued at about US$14.5 annually. It is the 7th most important activity out of Mexico’s 291 manufacturing industries.

The specialized nature of the Mexican pharmaceutical industry translates into significant economic development for its 80,000 total employees. The average monthly wage in the pharmaceutical industry is MX$22,385 (US$1,107) compared to those made by the manufacturing industry: MX$11,426 (US$565). Moreover, its activities generate an economic spillover in 161 other activities, out of a total of 259 that make up the Mexican economy.

There is potential to strengthen the pharmaceutical industry’s already dominant position in the Mexican economy. “The pharmaceutical sector will see a domino effect if distributors start to see and implement technology: if distributors use it, suppliers will follow,” according to Javier Pinzón, Director General, doHealth.

Investment and development in the pharmaceutical industry can significantly boost the country’s national economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Alec Lee, Director of Healthcare Research, FrontierView, explains that nonetheless, companies in the healthcare sector “will need to cope with inflationary pressures until 2023, mainly driven by faster-than-expected demand recovery and supply chain disruptions.”