Mexico must strengthen its innovation ecosystem, reduce inequalities in access to health technologies, streamline regulatory processes, and foster a culture of science-based entrepreneurship to build a more efficient, dynamic healthcare system with broader social impact.
Experts at The Next Decade forum—organized by Tecnológico de Monterrey under the theme “Health Horizons”—agreed that the country faces major cultural, regulatory, and structural obstacles that hinder the transfer of knowledge to the marketplace and limit the impact of science.
At the same time, they offered a hopeful vision: Mexico has the potential to build a robust health innovation ecosystem through collaboration, interdisciplinary work, and strategic partnerships.
A Mindset Shift and Academic Collaboration
One key to the future of healthcare is a cultural shift within universities—one that encourages science and technology-based entrepreneurship (EBCT) and strengthens collaboration between public and private institutions, the government, industry, and investment funds.
According to Eduardo Urzúa, Director of University Entrepreneurship at InnovaUNAM, legal reforms supporting EBCT are not enough. What’s needed is coordinated, vision-driven collaboration among academics, entrepreneurs, and institutions.
“We haven’t been able to build the trust needed among ecosystem actors to get them to invest in these kinds of projects. The risks are high, and health-related entrepreneurship takes time. Some initiatives take eight to ten years and require major investment,” he said.
He added that while this happens in many countries, it’s more common in Mexico due to the lack of a mature ecosystem. “We’re not there yet, but we’re moving in the right direction.”
“For years, UNAM and Tec had been in talks about working together. It seemed like mixing oil and water, right? But it wasn’t. We now understand each other and have developed projects jointly. This collaboration led us to Distrito Tlalpan—and that’s exactly the kind of partnership we need across the entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
Urzúa also shared that this UNAM-Tec collaboration, along with other institutions and companies, led to the creation of a pharmaceutical development unit, funded by the private sector (including laboratories and companies) and focused on applied technological development.
Juan Armendáriz, who has worked in both public and private universities, was the founding director of the Institute for Molecular Biology in Medicine and is now a distinguished professor of biomedical sciences at Tecnológico de Monterrey.
“I’ve seen both sides—public and private universities—and I can tell you that Tec is making incredible efforts to boost research. But it’s not just about publishing papers, getting citations, or climbing international rankings. It’s about developing scientific entrepreneurs.”
He added, “Science and tech-based entrepreneurship is what we need in this country to stop depending on foreign nations. We can create our own patents, but we have to broaden our horizons and use our intellectual strategies to generate national wealth.”
During the panel, Miguel Cuéllar, Director of Interinstitutional Coordination at the National Institutes of Health, emphasized that while there are significant challenges in health entrepreneurship, one positive step is the growing collaboration between public and private sectors: “Without these partnerships, science-based enterprises would hardly be possible.”
Overcoming Regulatory Hurdles
In Mexico, 95% of pharmaceutical patents belong to foreign companies. Just 5% have been granted to domestic inventors, according to data from the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI).
In other words, while Mexican researchers have the experience and the innovations in health technology, they face hurdles when it comes to turning that knowledge into patents and products. To change that, both institutional and private-sector support is needed to help technologies mature and reach the market.
Experts agreed that accelerating regulatory procedures is urgent to prevent innovations from getting bogged down in slow bureaucracies. They called on the Federal Commission for the Protection Against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) to fast-track the regulation of emerging health technologies.
Mirta Monteagudo, Deputy Director General of Industrial Property at IMPI—who oversees the registration of patents, trademarks, and utility models and promotes intellectual property and innovation in the country—raised a key concern:
“What’s happening with all that research, all those investment-backed projects? They’re not reaching the market. They’re not generating economic returns, and they’re certainly not improving the quality of life for Mexicans.”
Monteagudo explained that in March, the government published an agreement in the Diario Oficial de la Federación establishing key points for transparency and efficiency in drug regulation and industrial property. This agreement aims to clarify the content of COFEPRIS consultations and IMPI’s responses.
“The agreement includes measures to shorten the time it takes to obtain sanitary registrations. Of the 71,149 patents granted from 2018 to date, 12,914 are classified as pharmaceutical or medical technologies. The largest holders are higher education institutions (40%), followed by companies (24%), independent inventors (15%), research institutes (17%), and government institutes (4%). Altogether, 987 patents have been granted to Mexican nationals. So, what’s still missing? Stronger connections between the scientific community, government, and industry,” she said.
Eduardo Urzúa added that, at UNAM, research in health-related fields is particularly strong—the university is actually IMPI’s top patent client among all higher education institutions.
“But how many of those patents and innovations actually make it to market? How many of those intellectual property records are transferred to an industry? The truth is: very few.”
Efforts have been underway for years to change this. “There was a time when academics weren’t allowed to pursue entrepreneurship, but the law changed. The perspective changed. The focus shifted. Now we’re working hard to support academics in becoming entrepreneurs. It’s a major effort—we need to change the culture and flip the mental switch.”
Closing Gaps and Rethinking Health Education
For healthcare to move forward in a holistic way, two other aspects must be considered: existing health disparities and the future of medical education. On both fronts, experts agree on the need to update curricula with advanced simulation technology, ethical and human-centered training, and interdisciplinary approaches that prepare future professionals for a more responsive health system.
Miguel Cuéllar warned that one of the biggest long-term challenges is how to reduce health inequities. “Everyone talks about artificial intelligence, complex neural networks, and so on. These technologies could indeed improve access to healthcare—but not for everyone.”
“We’ll have amazing new inventions that will likely be available only to those who can afford them. That’s why we must ensure that the innovations we’re developing don’t end up widening the very gaps we’re trying to close,” he said.
To tackle this, Cuéllar proposed standardizing diagnostic tools across healthcare facilities. “We don’t even know whether every hospital has the right tools for diagnostics. So how can we talk about implementing new technologies if we don’t have the basic technological infrastructure for research and development?”
On the topic of medical education, Cuéllar emphasized that today’s medical, nursing, and biomedical students learn differently than previous generations. “We can’t keep using rigid models that no longer fit how students learn.”
He recommended adapting medical training to reflect new realities and seizing the opportunity to create a leading innovation ecosystem in Latin America—one built on openness, interdisciplinary work, and a human-centered vision for a more equitable and sustainable healthcare system.
“Only through a comprehensive and collaborative approach can we ensure that medical education becomes a driving force for the country,” added Alejandro Sotero Díaz, Coordinator of the Rotating Medical Internship at IPN. “With the right investment in resources, research, technology, and inclusion, Mexico can train new generations of doctors ready to face the future with excellence and commitment.”
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