The Pharmaceutical Industry in Latin America – Innovation, Digital Health and Sustainability
The pharmaceutical industry in Latin America has been growing steadily for years, despite, or perhaps because of, the pandemic. Latin America has the potential to become one of the most important regions for pharmaceutical companies and the Bayer Group alone aims to launch 60 new products there by 2023. Latin America could become more important, especially as a strategic region, because access to medicines is improving year by year. Bayer, in particular, is putting a lot of resources into Latin American research and development to drive innovation. Their focus particularly lies on cardiology, diabetes and cancer treatment and women’s health. Latin America is also expected to become a pioneer in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s, and various autoimmune diseases. Bayer has already initiated seven different projects on these topics, which are currently in the testing phase. Likewise, the company invests 16% of its sales in R&D and has about 16,000 employees in this area. This has allowed Bayer to develop 50 new products, 40 of which are already undergoing clinical trials and will soon be launched in Latin America.
Digital Health
Furthermore, Bayer in Latin America is focusing on the topic of digital health, which is part of the company’s strategy for the future. Solely in Mexico, there were more than 200,000 virtual doctor visits and more than 5,000 digital health events last year. Due to the enormous potential, Bayer would like to focus more on the development of e-commerce in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as on digital partnerships in the future. This should also allow to make better diagnoses during digital doctor’s visits, improve treatment and make digital medical follow-up possible. To achieve these goals, Bayer is part of the app OneDrop. It is designed specifically for diabetes patients, who can digitally enter their values there and monitor them on their own. Likewise, there is an app by Bayer called “Universo Médico,” where patients can get information from Bayer on diseases and treatment options just one click away.
Sustainability
An equally important item on Bayer’s agenda, especially in Latin America, is sustainability. Two of the UN’s 18 Sustainable Development Goals are particularly relevant here: Nutrition and Health. Bayer is therefore pursuing the goal of combating hunger worldwide and improving health care. Concrete measures taken by Bayer include supporting 100 million low- and middle-income farmers, improving access to health services for 100 million people, and providing 100 million women with access to contraceptives.
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