Mexico Eyes Pharmaceutical Self-Sufficiency to Boost Access

Mexico aims to shift from relying on pharmaceutical imports to becoming a hub for local production and export, says Deputy Minister of Health Eduardo Clark. The country’s strategic location near North American markets, combined with a sizable public health sector patient base, positions it well for pharmaceutical nearshoring, he adds.

During the FIFARMA Annual Summit 2025, held on May 22-23, Clark highlighted that Mexico spends about MX$330 billion (US$16.5 billion) biennially on medicines, with nearly half allocated to innovative and single-source treatments. Most of those medicines are imported, reports El Economista. 

Clark argues that domestic demand can support the long-term contracts that make local manufacturing more attractive to investors. However, despite its advantages, Mexico faces stiff regional competition in attracting pharmaceutical investment due to regulatory inefficiencies and less competitive production processes.

India, for example, has become a global manufacturing hub, producing nearly 19% of the world’s drug volume and hosting four of the 10 largest generic drug manufacturers. India is now seeking to capitalize on nearshoring trends, and the United States is beginning to view it as a strategic alternative to China, explains Marcos Pascual, CEO, Asesoría en Farmacias.  In Mexico, where eight out of 10 medicines consumed are generics, Indian firms such as Micro Pharmaceuticals México and Accord Farma already operate. 

Mexico's public health needs remain substantial. According to the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL), 50.4 million people in the country currently lack access to healthcare services, a figure that has doubled since 2018. Shortages in the public sector and the growing burden of chronic diseases have underscored the urgency of improving access to medicines, says Pascual. 

To address these challenges, the country needs institutional reform and improved alignment with international protocols, particularly in clinical research. The transformation of COFEPRIS, Mexico’s regulatory agency, into a more agile and digitalized institution has become a cornerstone of this effort, aiming to reduce barriers and enable faster research timelines, says Clark. He also stresses the importance of collaborative policymaking among government, industry, and patients to translate shared objectives into actionable public policies. 

The summit also showcased key findings from the BCI 2025 and W.A.I.T. Indicator 2025 studies. Mexico was recognized as an emerging player in clinical research, scoring 65.5% in competitiveness. Still, access remains a regional issue as only 44% of globally approved medicines between 2014 and 2024 are authorized in Latin America, and just 33% are available in public systems. Patients in the region wait an average of 5.6 years for new treatments.