Pharma Sector to Invest MX$12 Billion / First Development Pole

Pharma Sector to Invest MX$12 Billion in Mexico. Minister of Economy Marcelo Ebrard announced approximately MX$12 billion (US$641.9 million) in new investments from the pharmaceutical sector. Minister of Health David Kershenobich detailed that these investments come from four projects involving three multinational firms and one Mexican company.

The Germany-based company Boehringer Ingelheim will make a multi-year investment of MX$3.5 billion to expand its tablet production plant in Xochimilco, making it the largest in the world, surpassing the company’s plants in Spain, China, and Germany. The plant is expected to create 1,800 direct and 15,000 indirect jobs, as well as supply antihypertensives and antidiabetics for the local market and over 40 international markets, according to Augusto Muench, Director, Boehringer Ingelheim. Muench said the company expects the plant to produce over 5 billion tablets each year. 

Mexico-based company Carnot Laboratorios will invest MX$3.5 billion over five years to build a new high-tech plant in Villas de Tezontepec, Hidalgo, generating 600 direct high-specialty jobs and at least 5,000 indirect jobs, as highlighted by Edmundo Jiménez, Director, Carnot Laboratorios.

Germany-based Bayer will invest MX$3.5 billion over the next five years to expand its Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) production capacity at its Orizaba plant in Veracruz and add new medicine production lines at its Lerma plant in the State of Mexico, whose production is destined for the local, North American, and European markets, noted Manuel Bravo, President, Bayer. Bravo noted that Bayer is already doubling the production capacity of biological fungicides at its Tlaxcala plant, from where the company exports to more than 100 countries. The company is also investing in sensors and digital technologies with applications in agriculture, allowing farmers to save 30% of the water used in their crops. 

Bravo stated that COFEPRIS's expedited permit process allows the company to triple its investment in Mexican clinical studies, accelerating patient access to new medicines.

AstraZeneca announced an investment of over MX$2.5 billion over two years, which will create more than 600 specialized jobs and over 2,500 indirect jobs. The investment will be divided into three segments, beginning with clinical research across top research institutes in Mexico, including UNAM, IPN, and IMSS. The company will also expand its Global Innovation and Technology Center, which offers IT, AI, human resources, and financial services.

AstraZeneca will also expand its manufacturing plant in the State of Mexico, which produces essential medicines for Type 2 diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease, with a production of over 40 million packages for the Latin American market. Julio Ordaz, President and Director, AstraZeneca Mexico, said that this investment will improve access to quality health supplies in Mexico.

First Development Pole in Michoacan. Michoacan Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla announced the first investments in the new El Bajio Development Hub in Morelia. He reported that the first developer for the park is Citelis of Organización Ramírez. This initial public-private infrastructure investment is over MX$1 billion, in addition to other recent investments in the state, such as MX$13 billion for the port of Lazaro Cardenas.

⁠Eduardo Ramírez, Director General, Citelis, noted the company has been investing for over 30 years across the automotive, hospitality, and real estate sectors. He noted that Eleva Oark in Michoacan is proof of the company’s capabilities as it now hosts Mexican companies of the scale of OXXO, but also international companies like Amazon and Mercado Libre. He said that Plan México aligns with the Michoacan business and political sector’s industrialization goals.