On November 12, the Ministry of Health (SSa, for its acronym in Spanish) and the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP, for its acronym in Spanish) agreed to purchase oncology drugs from Argentina. The idea is to ensure a regular supply for all hospitals in Mexico. In addition, the SHCP and the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS, for its acronym in Spanish) agreed to combat “bad practices” when purchasing medicines earmarked for cancer treatment by promoting new purchasing mechanisms, which will be applied as of next year.

The purchase made from Argentina includes 27 thousand units of different drugs, including the following: 200 mg cyclophosphamide, 1 mg cyclophosphamide, 1 mg vincristine, 50 mg methotrexate and 500 mg methotrexate. These drugs are used to treat patients with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL) and acute leukemia, among others, as they target cancer cells. According to the SSa, these drugs will be distributed “immediately” to the different institutions in the health sector requiring them.

The agreement between the IMSS and the SHCP was signed after a videoconference given by IMSS head Zoé Robledo, and Raquel Buenrostro, head of the Chief Office of the SHCP. They committed to ensuring permanent follow-up and joint work with the health sector to guarantee “immediate attention” to the population and agreed to introduce mechanisms for consolidated purchases to avoid “bad” practices in medicines acquisition.