The federal government modified the drug purchase mechanism for the fourth time, but returned to the old method that was used before the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador began, said the general director of the National Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry (Canifarma ), Rafael Gual.
“This is the fourth attempt in this Government, following there was this disruption in the purchase scheme, as had been done traditionally. Yes, indeed it is returning or what was had before this government entered, where participation through distributors is already allowed, which was the reason why they changed the entire scheme, well we are returning to that, to Participation with distributors is allowed, which I can tell you is better than the system that was in place before, because now pharmaceutical companies will be able to select the company that will distribute them.
“This is important, because in some way there is co-responsibility, something that did not exist in the previous processes, where they tell you: ‘you deliver to this place’, and the logistics operation no longer depended on the industry. In other words, we made a big circle and ended up right where he was, ”he said in an interview with La Razón.
This logistical delivery caused López Obrador to recognize in December that what is known as “the last mile”, that is, delivery to hospital pharmacies and health centers, was not fulfilled.
“Now we have to continue with the distribution of medicines and then the so-called last mile, and the delivery to each medical unit, to each health center, to each hospital, and that is where we are. Much progress has been made,” said the president on December 29.
When the current government began bidding, it separated the distribution: they gave it first to the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS); then, to the Biological and Reagents Laboratory of Mexico (Birmex), to the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena), and now, they return with the industrialists; that is, they place the medicines in hospital pharmacies and, of course, they bid on Compranet.
It is returning or what was had before this government entered, where participation through distributors is already allowed, which was the reason why they changed the entire scheme
Rafael Gual Cosío, General Director of Canifarma
With this scheme that is launched, each laboratory that is awarded a purchase is responsible for delivering it to pharmacies of the requesting hospital and not to distribution centers, where, for example, vaccines expired in previous months.
However, although it returns to a proven scheme that has given results, government purchases of medicines were not sufficient in quantity or diversity, so that in 2023 and 2024 there will still be patients who do not receive their full requirements, he warned .
“Well, more or less 23 percent of deserted keys; Although it is a better result than those that had been achieved with the Higher Treasury Office, with Insabi himself, with UNOPS, it is still deficient.
“At the end of the day, the tenders that were carried out before this Government, in 2018, which was the last, since they had a supply or allocation of around 92-95-97 percent, on average 95; this then was 77 percent. The batting percentage improves, worth the expression, but there are quite a few keys that they will have to buy by direct award or by other mechanisms, ”said the pharmaceutical businessman.
Direct awards do not offer the best results in market research and are left to the discretion of the officials on duty, he added.
“Yes (there might be a shortage once more), provided they make these purchases through direct awards, which we also have a significant risk there, because we have observed that sometimes they are given to companies that do not have experience in the sector or that do not they have a sanitary registry in Mexico, which is very serious, since there is no possibility of knowing how it was manufactured and what quality characteristics they have today and if they meet the standards that are required here in Mexico for local companies that, of course, are subject to to a very very strict regulatory framework, which I tell you, is not necessarily fulfilled in these other cases,” he warned.
According to Rafael Gual, the federal government left around 250 to 260 drug codes without adjudication, including high-volume ones, but also specialty and therapeutic ones.
The Pharmaceutical Institute of Mexico (Inefam) estimates that of the 1,334 codes that represent medicines and vaccines, only 1,068 were awarded, while, by volume, of 2,719 million pieces, 2,362 million were obtained.
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