Eyeforpharma, an organization that aims to be a hub for pharmaceutical executives and health experts, celebrated on October 6 and 7 its sixth annual congress on Market Access and Value Propositions with the Mexican Government. The event brought together several leaders of the Mexican healthcare sector to discuss the main trends and challenges being faced by the Mexican pharmaceutical industry in the matter of market access and presented valuable conferences on these topics from experts in the industry.
The first day of conferences, October 5, began with a short introduction from Pablo Anaya from IMS Health who, after greeting the audience and introducing the event, presented Antonio Chemor Ruiz, Director General of Finance at the National Commission for Public Protection in Health (Seguro Popular). After a short narration on the history of Seguro Popular, Ruiz proceeded to describe the institution´s advances through the last three years including its increasing transparency and its growth in terms of patients and diseases covered. According to Ruiz, the goal of the institution is to continue growing and eventually be able to reach the entire Mexican population while guaranteeing good quality.
Next, Dr. Leobardo Ruíz Pérez and Rosa María Galindo from the General Health Council (GHC) proceeded to give a conference of the role of GHC’s regulatory policies on the growth of the healthcare sector. They made a thorough analysis on the current regulation and its impact on the pharmaceutical industry, and emphasized GHC’s role in creating Cuadros Básicos (Basic Formularies) for all public institutions of health. While Seguro Popular does not have a Basic Formulary, GHC has a close collaboration with it to determine which catastrophic diseases must be covered. Both speakers remarket that the ultimate goal of GHC is to work within the National Development Plan to increase access to healthcare to the whole population.
After a coffee break, AMIIF representatives led a workshop on strategies to increase the efficiency of current expenses for the pharmaceutical industry and the government. The objective of this workshop was to lead pharmaceutical leaders to create value proposals that would benefit both let the industry and the government. The workshop encouraged the participation of the public to generate six different proposals that were discussed among all present industry leaders. The workshop was followed by a speech from Mason Russell, Vice President of Truven Health Analytics, who spoke on the challenges and opportunities to adapt global economic models to the Mexican healthcare sector. According to Russell, it is common for international pharmaceutical companies to generate global standard models and then tropicalize them to individual countries, such as Mexico. This approach is not always convenient as it needs large amount of information on demography, epidemiology, relative prices, and availability, and if this data is not provided this approach is not feasible. Russell encouraged participants to study the local market as thoroughly as possible and to analyze whether current approaches were the most convenient for their companies. Miguel de Léon, Market Access & Governmental Affairs Head of Alcon Novartis, gave the next speech on the improving mechanisms for market access through funding strategies. de León stated that the “healthcare system is fragmented and complex,” as there are more than 40 different healthcare systems in Mexico. Another problem is that it is estimated that the healthcare system will not be able to cover all chronic diseases, as there are not enough funds.
After break for lunch, conferences continued with Joaquin Mould, Global Health Economics & Outcomes Research Project Leader at Bayer, who spoke on the access models currently being used in Europe. Mould explained the relevance of Real World Evidence as a basis for decision making and explained several access models, including pay for performance and conditional reimbursement. He incited the audience to push forward these models to increase innovation in Mexico. “Innovative products come to Latin America two to three years later than to Europe,” he lamented. Next, Eduardo González Pier, Sub-secretary of Integration and Development of the Health Sector at the Ministry of Health, proceeded to explain the 12 steps medications had to take to incorporate into the public sector. González Pier highlighted the complexities of incorporating innovative medications into the public sector, as every public institution has its own regulations and its own Basic Formulary. He stated the importance of homologating all these different formularies in order to facilitate the introduction of innovative medications into the market. The following conference was from Jose Alberto Peña, Vice President and Director General of GlaxoSmithKline, who spoke on the success story of the fast introduction of the rotavirus vaccine.
After a coffee break, the afternoon conferences continued with Tomás Rodríguez Weber, Executive President of Diprofar. Rodríguez spoke on the distribution models currently being implemented in Mexico. He mentioned that to this date there are 34 distribution centers in Mexico which belong to only three companies. In his opinion, the current model does not promote efficiency, and the actual market conditions are currently negatively affecting distributors as the final price is determined by the retailer. He proposed a new model which will homologate prices and strengthen the negotiation capacity of distributors. Next, Melina Calderón, Direction of Patient Access of LATAM at Baxalta, spoke on the necessary steps to create a value proposal and its importance to alleviate market challenges. The final speech of the day was Carlos Alejandro Castro Sánchez, Executive President of Asociación ALE, an organization created to foment organ transplants. Castro Sanchéz highlighted the importance of organ donation and patient empowerment through associations.
