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CUERNAVACA: CORNERSTONE FOR MANUFACTURER’S FUTURE STRATEGY GURULINGA KONANUR Director General of Hetero Mexico
Q: How do you measure Hetero Group’s market penetration
integrated and we are considering product lines that will
in Mexico?
complement our existing portfolio including oncological,
A: In Mexico, we are predominantly a B2B player in APIs and
biotechnological, injectables and niche products.
the finished products segments so it is hard to measure our 218
market penetration, the market share or to come up with a
We see great opportunity in the biotech and injectables
100 percent predictable sales forecast. What influences our
segments. There are not many players with strong
market are government tenders and the performance of
manufacturing capabilities for high-quality, advanced
our partners in relevant segments. For instance, 2017 was a
biotechnological products and the same holds for
good year as some of our clients outperformed and some
general injectables, making these an interesting market
of our important clients got major shares in government
to enter. We are also exploring other niche segments or
tenders, which benefited us indirectly.
products lines.
With presence in over 120 countries, Hetero holds 30 percent of the global retroviral market
Q: What products does Hetero plan to introduce into the Mexican market in 2018? A: Our goal is to move increasingly closer to our clients and match their manufacturing needs. We entered the Mexican market with a very limited number of clients but have slowly and steadily raised that figure through our extensive work to serve the needs of our customers and
The year for us was one of consolidation, especially after
through the hard work of our sales team.
the challenges we faced in 2016. We have very positive expectations for 2018 but it depends on the performance
Q: What must be done to address the main medical
of our partners and clients.
issues in Mexico? A: Chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular,
Q: Hetero Group is completing a plant installation. What
central nervous system and cancer continue to plague
products will be produced here?
the Mexican population. These conditions require the
A: We had a plant construction in process in Toluca but
continuous use of medication throughout a patient’s
we decided to move the project to Cuernavaca since it
entire life. Authorities should increase the offering of
was more appropriate for our business. Toluca was a
medications available to these patients to give them
greenfield project, which would have taken a significant
several therapeutic alternatives.
amount of time to set up, while there was an appropriate existing plant in Cuernavaca that we could adapt to suit
Q: How do you expect Mexico’s changing political
our needs.
climate to impact the pharmaceutical sector? A: We hope the change in administration will not alter the
We are still in the process of deciding which products and
status of the pharmaceutical sector, as tender processes
lines will be manufactured here. Hetero Group is vertically
will start in the last quarter of the year. We also hope it will not affect the private market as it is paid out of pocket. One of the factors that can affect the sector
Hetero Group is an Indian generics manufacturer present in
is severe exchange-rate fluctuations. For instance, the
120 countries that specializes in antiretroviral therapy drugs for
political situation caused by the US presidential election
the treatment of HIV/AIDS. Hetero Group has over 20 years of
brought about significant fluctuations in the exchange
experience in the sale of APIs, generics and biosimilars
rate that directly hit our market and imports.
