According to what was reported in the information session this Monday convened by UNOPS and Insabi, now there are already consolidated purchases because what there were in previous six-year terms were concentrated purchases. Perhaps then we need to understand the definition of consolidated purchase because until now, that expected mega-purchase that would truly bring together the demand of all the institutions of the public health system to generate savings and efficiencies, which is expected with this type of exercise, has not materialized.
In 2019, the Senior Treasury Officer was able to make a limited purchase of antiretrovirals and other products, but nothing else. In 2020 the Treasury dropped the issue and months passed without agreeing, so discretionary awards multiplied; then announced the arrival of UNOPS that would make the mega-purchase for 2021. But the lack of understanding with Insabi generated a thousand delays and ended up allowing IMSS, Issste, Sedena, Semar, Pemex and state agencies to each buy on their own as they could and another once with direct awards. They made a purchase that did not cover everything but allowed them to understand the Mexican market. By 2022 it would be assumed that the outlook is clearer and UNOPS and Insabi would be well aligned for now if a well consolidated purchase.
But the doubts persist. Insabi already issued a call for its side in November without considering UNOPS, and on Monday it was announced that UNOPS will come out with another call. They say they go together but all the signs indicate that they will rather be competing; for its part the United Nations body and for its part the Mexican Government.
Simultaneously, the Ministry of Finance, specifically its Mayor’s Office, in recent days summoned the pharmaceutical companies to negotiate the purchases of patent or single-source drugs, and clearly warned them to reduce prices or send them to the list. UNOPS codes where they already know that things are very complicated and conditions are not the best for suppliers. As much as UNOPS tries to make it appear that it is aligned with Insabi, this is not very clear in fact. If UNOPS executives have not realized that the Mexican government agencies will not let them play with open cards and that they will continue to put stones in their path, they have a serious problem.
And now, the Insabi in its call put a little strange conditions that apparently give bidders options to choose from, but that do not end up understanding each other well. There is the case that they are offered to choose whether they want to sell to the Government without distribution (as has been done since 2019) or with the distribution service included. In principle, it would be expected that they are returning to the scheme where they rejoin the supply chain – manufacturing and distribution, which they broke 3 years ago. But since Q4 does not like simple things, they conditioned the supplier: if he decides to go for the “with distribution” option, he has to deliver at 278 different points in hospitals, clinics and warehouses throughout the country. Industrialists are foreseeing that this will imply facing the situation of having to collect 278 different acknowledgments of receipt in order to be able to collect. Of the total number of codes, 364 types of drugs are open to this modality with distribution.
Another impediment that makes the panorama of the purchase of Insabi look murky is that it is asking for a listing considering that they will be able to cover 100% of the order, even though in the end they will only be able to keep 60 or 40% of the purchase. What this is generating are entry barriers to small companies that are not capable of meeting such demand sizes, and then the funnel closes only for the largest suppliers, which are precisely those that this Government has indicated because they concentrated or took over the market. If they want to strengthen and diversify the supply chain, the incentives are not aligned.
Overall, the way things look, it does not seem that by 2022 the outlook for shortages will improve. Sadly, as long as they do not show that they have the procurement processes under control and in a transparent way, the insufficiency of treatments for patients in the public sector will continue in Mexico.
Entry of the Army to Birmex
With the nomination of a military officer in Birmex, AMLO seems to be taking steps so that the Army is now taking over the distribution. Pedro Zenteno, who is now being awarded the ownership of the ISSSTE, tried from various sides to see where it was feasible to create the super-distributor of drugs that they ordered; He set out with Juan Ferrer, to take away deliveries in the capital metropolitan area from Insabi, and just got the governor of Hidalgo, Omar Fayad, to donate a 10-hectare piece of land to Birmex. Let’s see how the retired general Jens Pedro Lohmann Iturburu will continue that path, who from the Regulatory Director of Administration and Finance in the ISSSTE yesterday, November 30, became the head of Birmex.
One more space won by the Army this time within the Health Sector.
Mexico already has an approved anticovid treatment
In the United States, it is assumed that the FDA sanitary regulator will approve Merck’s antiviral Molnupiravir in pills to treat Covid19 – the same that in Europe was already authorized since the beginning of November and began to be sold in Spain. Pfizer’s anticovid treatment is also about to come out-, and once that happens, it is to be expected that Cofepris will consider both drugs to enter Mexico.
But it should be known that since last May the Committee for New Molecules issued a unanimous favorable opinion for a treatment against SARS-Cov2, presented by the Mexican laboratory Landsteiner Scientific directed by Arturo Morales. It is a drug originally developed in Japan and already has a sanitary registration in Mexico; in fact, it is already available in the private sector, but the General Health Council has not yet included it in the Compendium to be able to have it in the public sector. The new Omicron variant, whose dangerousness we are yet to know, is surely an incentive to have it in public institutions.
New GSK option for HIV
And speaking of Cofepris approvals, it is good news for those living with HIV – now that it is World AIDS Day – that it has given a health registration to HIV treatment which consists of the combination of dolutegravir with lamivudine. The version was shown to be more effective, less toxic and with more adherence capacity for patients, as it was a single dose a day based on two drugs for the control of the disease from its origin.
Free Lung Cancer Screening
Given the high mortality rates registered in Mexico from lung cancer due to its late detection, it is great to know that INCan launched the first timely lung cancer detection program in conjunction with AstraZeneca and The Lung Ambition Alliance. It will be done through the DETECTO Clinic, with free studies for people with risk factors such as being a smoker, being in contact with tobacco smoke, wood, asbestos or high pollution ”.
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