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The Week in Health: New HIV Generic Coming to the Market

Photo by: Michał Parzuchowski en Unsplash

By Miriam Bello | Senior Journalist and Industry Analyst - Thu, 08/04/2022 - 10:00

Mexico’s public health changes have been causing medicine shortages since 2019. Healthcare provision could also be affected by recent governmental decisions such as the disappearance of psychiatric hospitals.

Globally, pharmaceutical companies continue their efforts to tackle diseases that need urgent treatments such as HIV.

Here is the week in health!

BMS Welcomes New General Manager for Mexico

Biopharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) announced the appointment of Oswaldo Bernal as the new General Manager of its subsidiary in Mexico. His priorities include strengthening and empowering all BMS areas in the country to continue investing in clinical research and medical education, while generating strategic partnerships that allow patients to improve their health outcomes.

Medicine Distribution Fails Again

INSABI has only delivered 40.8 percent of the drugs ordered by states by the end of July 2022, reports Animal Politico. Distributors attribute the delays to a lack of coordination. In addition to changes in purchasing schemes, pharmaceutical and distribution industry executives warn that there is disorder and delays in payments from the federal government.

Mexico Reports 60 Monkeypox Cases, No Fatalities

Mexico reached 60 positive monkeypox cases last Tuesday, reported the Ministry of Health. While more infections are forecasted, Deputy Minister of Health Promotion Hugo López-Gatell said that the disease will not spread extensively.

Generic Drug Against HIV Could Soon Reach the Market

Pharmaceutical company ViiV HealthCare and the UN-backed Medicines Patent Fund reached an agreement for the production and distribution of a generic medicine to prevent transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). According to Reuters, this agreement will lower the price of an injectable drug that can work as an alternative to PrEP, a pill that helps reduce the risk of HIV infection and whose price exceeds MX$66,000 (US$3,189).

About 64 Percent of Patients in Psychiatric Hospitals Were Abandoned by Relatives

An investigation by Animal Politico revealed that in Mexico there are at least 1,940 people in psychiatric hospitals, of which 64 percent were abandoned by their relatives. A worrying situation, since the new modifications to the General Health Law proposes the disappearance of these hospitals.

Clean, Healthy Environment: A Universal Human Right

The UN General Assembly stated that the access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a universal human right. The resolution was decided with 161 votes in favor and only eight abstentions, setting a precedent in the fight against the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, said António Guterres, Minister General, UN.

Experts of the Week!