The Health Institute for Wellbeing (Insabi) recently called on the drug and vaccine supplier industry to participate in a market study for the acquisition of a significant number of drug and vaccine keys for almost all the institutions in the system.
We say almost all of them because the one that is not included is the health sector of Petróleos Mexicanos. We would think that the oil union no longer tolerated the delays that have generated so much shortage; They tell us that it is not the first inter-institutional purchase in which Pemex decides not to participate because for months it has been making its own purchases on its own. The question is when the IMSS will do the same, since we already know that it has everything to do its own purchases much more efficiently than INSABI / UNOPS, and especially since its technical advice made this noticeable since August.
The Insabi in the new call did not define dates on when this acquisition would be taking place, but the generic pharmaceutical sector estimates it to be for 2022, although this is not very clear either because, according to the analysis of the Pharmaceutical Institute (INEFAM) many of the product keys summoned would be splicing with the purchase made by UNOPS to cover part of 2021 and the first half of 2022.
This call from Insabi started on October 15 asking for a prompt response to the interested parties, informing them of their capacity to supply the requested demand.
According to the figures reported by INEFAM – the institute of Enrique Martínez and José Carlos Ferreyra who closely follow the public pharmaceutical market – this call includes 885 drug codes, 24 vaccine codes and some 400 healing material codes. They estimate that this purchase includes an initial bag of approximately 54,000 million pesos, covering some 885 million pieces of both medicines and vaccines. It is an important figure that would represent more than half of the purchases that the Government made of these inputs in the last year.
Here the question that remains in the air is what happens with the announced multi-year consolidated purchase that UNOPS anticipated to cover 2022-2024? That was part of the agreement signed between the Mexican government and UNOPS. But now the question is even in whether UNOPS participation in the following purchases will continue because in this regard there is absolute silence on the part of the current administration.
In 2020 this phase of market study for the 2021 supply was carried out by UNOPS. And it was the beginning of the long delays as Insabi took too long to consolidate the supply of health institutes, and then the international organization also took too long to issue the market study; He allowed more than 6 months to pass for the formal call from which the bidders present their bids. And not only that, but the offers were already made in February of this year, hence UNOPS took another 5 months to give the ruling, something that the IMSS did from one day to the next during the 8 years that it had to make those consolidated purchases. .
Stuck on the last mile
For now, regarding the delivery of this 2021, they report that things are still stuck in the delivery, specifically in the last mile because it has not been possible to standardize the paperwork and protocols that they request from the logistics operators in each reception point for hospitals and clinics throughout the country. That is, patients who do not belong to the IMSS, ISSSTE, Sedena, Semar or Pemex continue to pay the costs with the intermittence or lack of their treatments and all because the current Government continues in its long learning curve without finishing finding the appropriate scheme of purchases, distribution and deliveries of health supplies.
Journalist on economics and health issues
Health and Business
Communicator specialized in public health and the health industry. Studying a master’s degree in Health Systems Administration at FCA of UNAM.
Founder in 2004 of www.Plenilunia.com, a concept on women’s health. I am passionate about researching and reporting on health, innovation, the science-related industry, and finding an objective business approach to each topic.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx