Genetics and robotization, the future of pharmaceuticals

Technology and the pandemic changed the development of new drugs. Now, pharmaceutical innovation is evolving and it is more common to test biologic medicines and gene therapies on mechanisms of action, said Karla Alcázar Uribe, president and CEO of Eli Lilly Latin America.

“In terms of science, the way of making molecules is evolving. In marketing, the pandemic taught us many things, mainly that we can operate virtually, and this makes us reflect on how to equip the medical representative to evolve,” said Alcázar.

“The representative is the face of the company in front of the doctor, but now what it offers is going to evolve a lot and the digital part is very important,” he stressed.

In terms of drug manufacturing, the robotization of processes will allow staff to be more focused on strategic aspects and less on operational ones.

Mexico is the 10th largest market for Eli Lilly in terms of sales, and one of Alcázar’s main goals is to double sales over the next five years.

The main therapeutic areas for the company are diabetes, oncology, immunology, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and pain.

Karla Alcázar joined Lilly 15 years ago as Market Research Manager and in 2018 she was appointed General Manager for Lilly Brazil, another of the company’s most important markets.

The directive commented that one of the great differences between the Brazilian and Mexican pharmaceutical market is the size of the purchases made by the government.

Source: EL UNIVERSAL.