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Miguel Angelo Ricchiuti

Operations and Supply Chain Director Mexico and LATAM | Apotex

Mauricio Rodríguez Leal

Commercial Director | Apotex

Apotex Mexico Continues Focus on Meeting Demand

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More about this person Q: What are the main benefits for Apotex as an API manufacturer?

MAR: APIs have been key to our development and growth. We have API plants in Mexico and in Canada that supply primarily to our manufacturing sites, which allows us to react faster to market changes. Our vertical integration gives us two main advantages: being the first to develop the APIs and cost benefits from the start. Without vertical integration and close communication, it would be more difficult to ensure availability of affordable products for our patients.

We have seen an increase in demand of over-the-counter (OTC) and public sector products. By integrating API manufacturing and refurbishment, we gained an edge to become government suppliers for affordable products as some current tenders imply a challenge in the fast availability and additional volumes.

Q: Apotex is also betting on biosimilars. How will your supply chain transform to manufacture these products?

MAR: Our Apobiologix division creates biosimilars and we now have three in the market: Grastofil (figlastrim), Lapelga (pegfilgastrim) and Bambevi (bevacizumab). We are a little bit behind in Mexico and Latin America in the development and approval of biosimilars as we are more aligned to the FDA. There is also a wide gap between the US and EU’s biosimilar approval process. While we do not expect to produce biosimilars in our Mexican plant, we will integrate the local supply chain with biosimilars developed and produced in Canada.

Q: How has Apotex used technology to transform its supply chain and how has this benefited the company?

MAR: Apotex is launching a digital transformation and a “smart factory.” Our SAP system is integrated into the whole chain: commercial, finance, production, operation and warehousing systems. On the production side, we are investing in new areas to improve employee communication and to make production more automated, all of which we will launch next year. We will be able to control all parameters of manufacturing directly at the machines. Through these investments, we will be at the forefront of technology.

Q: How does digitalization ensure Apotex can bring its products to Mexican patients?

MR: We have to pay attention to trends and the market’s situation. Being close to the market and to clients allows us to capitalize on long-term increases in demand. Our commercial areas are close to the supply chain and operations, which allows us to anticipate trends.

The pandemic paused the in-person visit model so we developed technological tools to establish faster communication, answer questions and provide information. In Mexico, we developed an app called Aponet for health professionals. In the past couple of months, about 40 percent of doctors have restarted in-person visits but we will continue using the app. We also built a communication strategy that incorporated social media and blogs.