Pharmaceutical industry of Mexico: a lesson for Ukraine

Abstract

Background. In Ukraine, in response to the challenges of the pandemic, the government adopted a State program to stimulate the economy to overcome the negative consequences caused by restrictive measures. This is the first step towards the creation of innovative products in Ukraine and the foundation on their basis of new drug production. An example is the Mexican steroid hormone industry: the rise and fall of this industry deserves substantive study to take into account when determining priorities in the development of pharmaceuticals in Ukraine.
Analysis of recent researches and publications revealed that scientific works are mainly focused on summarizing the positive experiences of countries that have developed the pharmaceutical industry. A number of works are devoted to the phenomenon of the Mexican industry of steroid hormones, at the same time, negative events and erroneous political decisions that led to the decline of the industry are ignored, and therefore it is impossible to take this experience into account and formulate appropriate warnings for Ukraine.
The aim of the article is to identify key challenges and threats to the formation and development of the pharmaceutical industry (using the Mexican steroid hormone industry as an example) and to determine the role of political influence on the competition for resources.
Materials and methods. The theoretical and methodological basis for writing the article was scientific concepts and theoretical developments on the innovative development of the industry, as well as the theory of dependencies; the work of Mexican and Western economists; US Congressional Archival Materials and Reports. The study was carried out using methods of theoretical generalization, comparative analysis and synthesis.
Results. «Multi-layer» dependence on foreign influence played a significant role in growing industry. Foreign entrepreneurs and scientists, foreign equipment’s and transfer of technologies for upgrading, external market had crucial to development of industry. Mexican government’s policy to remove protective barriers, as well as the position of non-intervention, the lack of an industry development strategy and mechanisms for support influenced the decline of Mexico’s steroid hormone industry.
Conclusion. Creating an innovative product in the pharmaceutical industry of Ukraine and establishing a successful startup based on it requires state aid. Building a national innovation system and improving the framework conditions for innovation is the key to the formation of domestic pharmaceutical industries on the basis of endogenous innovation.