Medical devices, in pursuit of self-sufficiency

The medical device industry in Mexico is experiencing a paradox.

Manufacturers in this sector are, as the saying goes, street lamp and darkness at home.

And it is that despite being one of the main producers of medical devices in the world, most of what it produces is exported, while two thirds of what it consumes is imported.

This successful industry, which could rank 5th as an exporter of medical devices in the world, urgently requires a public policy to promote the sector that allows for its self-sufficiency and minimizes purchases from abroad.

The approach is made by the president of the Association of Health Providers, Carlos Salazar.

He warns that on a global scale, nations export only a fifth of what they produce and their consumption is five times more than what they sell abroad.

In Mexico it is the other way around, it exports what it produces and mainly imports what it demands.

Mexico is one of the main producers of medical devices in the world, with more than 400 manufacturers.

In 2021, the medical device sector in Mexico generated a total production value of 15.8 billion dollars.

Of which 3 thousand 800 million dollars of production were for national consumption.

Most of it is sold abroad. Two thirds of what is used in the country is imported.

This relationship should be reversed with a policy to promote the sector and strengthen disease prevention, insists the leader.

An old demand of the sector is that by virtue of its potential it becomes a self-sufficient industry, instead of depending on purchases outside the national territory.

The industry is installed mostly in nine entities: Baja California, Chihuahua, Mexico City, Jalisco, Sonora, Nuevo León, Morelos, Tamaulipas and the State of Mexico.

It is distinguished by its high competitiveness in the manufacturing cost, since it is 23% lower than in the US and 6% lower than in China.

The companies that make up the sector generate more than 800,000 jobs.

And it has more than 10 thousand products registered in Mexico, which go to 142 destinations in different parts of the world.

In 2021, Mexico had a growth of 46 percent compared to 2017, so it would be very close to reaching fifth place internationally.

Mexico contributes 2.48% of the exports made to this sector worldwide with more than 400 manufacturers and more than 3 thousand importers and marketers that produce more than 10 thousand products and distribute to more than 142 destinations in the world.

Challenges for the medical device industry

Among the challenges to overcome are: 1.- Develop productive autonomy, through support programs for entrepreneurs in R&D of medical devices; Creation of financing programs for the industry and professionalization programs; 3.- The supply of medical devices in the public sector.

The creation of a pharmaceutical industrial policy that promotes and facilitates the provision of this type of medical supplies for the benefit of the population’s health is required.