Mexican Pharmaceutical Industry Warns of Delays in Medicine Delivery Due to Lack of Contracts and Warehouse Space

Web Editor

May 21, 2025

a person in a blue coat and a machine with a glass top on it and a hose in front of it, Dahlov Ipcar

Background on Larry Rubin and AMIIF

Larry Rubin, the CEO of the Asociación Mexicana de Industrias de Investigación Farmacéutica (AMIIF), is a prominent figure in Mexico’s pharmaceutical sector. AMIIF represents companies involved in research-based pharmaceuticals, ensuring the availability of essential medicines for Mexican patients. Rubin’s concerns highlight critical challenges in Mexico’s healthcare system, particularly regarding medicine distribution.

Current Situation and Challenges

Despite efforts to improve medicine and medical supply distribution in Mexico, significant hurdles persist. Rubin pointed out that the new consolidated purchase mechanism for medicines and medical supplies, aiming to cover needs through 2025-2026, faces substantial structural issues.

Warehouse Capacity and Delays

One major concern is the insufficient storage capacity at warehouses, which hampers timely medicine delivery to hospitals, healthcare institutions, and distribution centers. This delay ultimately affects patients and beneficiaries.

  • Problem: Warehouses lack space to accommodate incoming medicine shipments.
  • Impact: Delays in delivering crucial medications, including oncology and HIV treatments, which can be life-threatening if patients miss doses.

Unfulfilled Contracts and Supply Chain Disruptions

Another pressing issue is that approximately 40% of the suppliers awarded contracts for consolidated medicine and medical supply purchases (2025-2026) have yet to sign the agreements.

  • Problem: Unexecuted contracts restrict formal medicine and medical supply distribution.
  • Impact: Essential medicines remain unavailable to patients despite being stored in Mexican warehouses.

AMIIF’s Call for Action

AMIIF emphasizes its commitment to collaborating with authorities to streamline processes and ensure timely medicine delivery to institutions such as IMSS, ISSSTE, IMSS-Bienestar, and national health institutes and centers.

Rubin urged swift contract signing by Mexican institutions to address the urgent need for patients to receive their medications.

Key Questions and Answers

  • Q: Who is Larry Rubin and what is AMIIF?
  • A: Larry Rubin is the CEO of AMIIF, an association representing research-based pharmaceutical companies in Mexico.

  • Q: What challenges is AMIIF highlighting in medicine distribution?
  • A: AMIIF points out warehouse capacity issues and unfulfilled contracts causing delays in delivering essential medicines to patients.

  • Q: How are these challenges affecting patients?
  • A: Delays in crucial medications, including oncology and HIV treatments, pose serious risks to patients’ health.

  • Q: What is AMIIF’s proposed solution?
  • A: AMIIF urges authorities to expedite contract signing and collaborate to improve medicine distribution processes.