Mexico: COFECE calls out 98% overcharge in medicines

Alejandra Palacios, president of the Federal Commission of Economic Competition (COFECE) of Mexico, declared that a lack of competition and abuse of market power by certain pharmaceutical companies in collusion with public authorities has meant that “Mexican households pay an average of 98 percent more than they would pay without surcharges ” when buying medicines.

DUring her participation at a forum on Economic Competition, Palacios denounced public servants and private companies are colluding to carry out acts of corruption in public tenders, leading to overcharges. “When a public servant encourages a particular participant and gives him undue advantages such as privileged information… the companies generate extra-normal profits, which are used to pay these bribes.”

Exposing collusion from the market research stage, Palacios assured that the indicated conducts had damaged public finances by more than 177 million pesos due to these surcharges. Palacios proposed that legislators ” work on a new general law of public contracts, among other subjects, so that the companies that have participated in collusions, which have sold to the government with surcharges, are disqualified for participating.”