Mexico City, Mexico — President Claudia Sheinbaum has announced a 10.4 billion peso investment to strengthen the Mexican pharmaceutical industry. The objective, she said, is to strengthen the country’s economy and national production in the face of risk situations.
“For us it is essential that more production takes place in Mexico, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, due to a sovereignty issue,” she reported Thursday.
As part of Plan Mexico, the Mexican government, through the Ministries of Economy and Health, announced the investments that will see companies Kener Laboratories invest 5.18 billion pesos, Genbio invest 4 billion pesos, Alpharma BioGenTec with an initial investment of 800 million pesos and a Neolsym investment 500 million pesos.
President Sheinbaum emphasized that the goal is to achieve pharmaceutical sovereignty so that Mexico can address vulnerable situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and that boosting this sector will also strengthen the national economy.
“For us, it’s essential that more production be done in Mexico, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, also for reasons of sovereignty. So, what do we want?
“Well, in a situation of vulnerability in the face of a pandemic, in the face of any other situation, we don’t want to be dependent on a single manufacturer in the world that faces competition from around the world to ship its exports.
“We want to strengthen domestic production in the face of risky situations, but also to strengthen our economy,” she explained Thursday.
She said one of the goals is to foster innovation in Mexico and for this, innovation to be used in medicines for Mexicans. She also noted that Plan Mexico is a strategy to increase production in the country for the domestic market as well as for export.
“Plan Mexico means producing more in Mexico, it means Made in Mexico. That’s what Plan Mexico is, and it has a strategy to strengthen different sectors in the country that will allow us to produce more in Mexico, for the domestic market and also for export,” she added.
Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon noted that the pharmaceutical sector is very important for Mexico, as it needs to increase self-sufficiency in medicines. Furthermore, he emphasized that this investment adds to the country’s portfolio of more than $200 billion.
“I would like to point out and inform you that today we are announcing investments from companies in the pharmaceutical field. This field is very important for two reasons, and it is of great importance to the President of Mexico in the Plan Mexico strategy.
“The first reason is that Mexico needs to increase its technological self-sufficiency in everything related to pharmaceuticals. Do you remember the experience with COVID-19? We had to bring in vaccines, many medications. So, we’ve continued working to ensure we achieve self-sufficiency.
“The companies Kenner, Genbio, Alpharma Biogentec and NeolSyM have been developing various important solutions for the country in recent years,” he said adding that the Secretary of Health has been a key promoter.
Health Secretary David Kershenobich Stalnikowitz stated that these investments promote well-being and health and foster the development of biotechnology and research and the development of original products in Mexico.
Federico Prince Laris, CEO and general manager of Laboratorios Kener explained that the 5.18 billion peso investment will be used to expand its injectable plant and triple its installed capacity, which is scheduled to open in February 2027.
It also includes the creation of a mixing center, comprehensive anesthesia services for the production of Car-T Cells and new health registrations, which will generate 800 direct jobs and 2,000 indirect jobs.
Genbio CEO José Miguel Ramos Rodríguez explained that the 4 billion pesos will be invested in the installation and operation of the first plasma fractionation plant in Latin America, which will generate 100 specialized jobs.
The CEO of Grupo Neolpharma, Luz Astrea Ocampo Gutiérrez de Velasco, stated that Alpharma BioGenTec will allocate an initial investment of 800 million pesos for the construction of infrastructure and the development of biopharmaceuticals, biotechnological medicines, and vaccines, as well as for coordination with universities for technological development; 110 direct jobs and 310 indirect jobs will be created.
Neolpharma Group’s vice president of innovation, Diego Antonio Ocampo Gutiérrez de Velasco, announced that Neolsym will invest 500 million pesos in the manufacturing of raw materials and supplies used in medicines, creating 120 direct jobs and 500 indirect jobs.
In May, Sheinbaum announced a new decree to position Mexico as a leader in the pharmaceutical industry. The new decree is meant to encourage international pharmaceutical companies to invest in projects for the production of medicines and medical supplies in Mexico.
“We want this purchasing power, necessary to serve the people of Mexico, to help us attract companies from India, the United States, various parts of Europe, Latin America, Brazil, and elsewhere to come and invest in Mexico to produce medicines here.
“This will make them even more affordable,” she said in May.
