Pharmaceutical Medicine in Mexico

Pharmaceutical Medicine is a scientific medical discipline concerned with the discovery, development, evaluation, registration, monitoring and medical aspects of the marketing of medicines for the benefit of patients and the public health. This discipline has gone through an important evolution on a worldwide scale in the last 50 years. However, in Mexico and Latin America, its development has been recent and very satisfactory, both on an organizational level, as well as academically.

Pharmaceutical Medicine in Mexico has reached a level of development that must be reinforced and perfected for maintaining regional and global leadership. Mexico’s current level of development can be measured by the new empowerment of undergraduate and specialist educational programmes for those interested in Pharmaceutical Medicine at both public and private universities. Mexico is the first country in Latin America to obtain official recognition and support by one of two most renowned upper education and postgraduate institutions in the country.

In addition, local associations, such as the Association of Medical Specialists in the Pharmaceutical Industry (Asociacion de Medicos Especialistas en la Industria Farmaceutica, A.C. [AMEIFAC]), have become major drivers for the development and growth of Pharmaceutical Medicine in Mexico by performing multiple activities of relevance to the discipline. Important examples include the publishing of books and articles, organizing presentations, workshops, symposia and forums, and participating in both national and international conferences, such as the 6th Latin American Congress on Clinical Research held in Mexico City in 2009, and the 7th Latin American Congress on Clinical Research, which will be held in Sao Paolo, Brazil in late 2010. AMEIFAC also organizes important social and educational events such as bi-monthly seminars, annual meetings and a biennial congress for the entire pharmaceutical and academic arena in Mexico. Topics such as pharmacoeconomics, sustainable development and fast-tracking oncology clinical trials are only some of the many topics covered during these gatherings.

A new age of maturity and solidification of Pharmaceutical Medicine as a specialty and medical development realm in both Mexico and throughout the world is underway. Our growth and development will continue to flourish as Pharmaceutical Medicine gains increasing global recognition as a vital part of future drug, biotechnological and device development.