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EF: What are your top priorities in Mexico for 2024?
DC: In 2024, our objective is to improve the lives of 10 million Mexicans. One of our key emphases is enhancing the lives of oncology patients, whether it is prostate or colon, improving access, and expediting the administrative work to ensure that all the patients receive the treatment on time. In November 2022, Bayer introduced a new prostate cancer product, and this year, we received approval from the relevant authorities to bring it to Mexico.
Another top goal for us is women's health. We have historically excelled at assisting Mexican women in making life plans and having families when it is right for them. Regretfully, Mexico still has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies globally, so we aim to eliminate this issue. One of the problems facing our nation is that many young people cannot achieve their career aspirations, which prevents them from making an economic contribution to society. As a company, we genuinely believe we can enhance women’s lives and the country’s financial development.
In ophthalmology, we lead in preventing blindness, especially related to diabetes. Given Mexico's high diabetic population, our focus is on ophthalmology for diabetes.
We also introduced a therapy to address diabetic kidney problems. After a successful launch, we anticipate that access will be extended to an increasing number of diabetic patients countrywide.
Knowing that innovation is only worthwhile if it reaches the people, access is our top concern in all that we do, whether in the retail or highly specialized markets.
EF: How will your operations in Mexico affect the rest of LATAM now that you have received more funding for your facilities in Veracruz?
DC: The implementation of the new production line made 2023 a fantastic year. From Veracruz, we export to nearly every country in the world except the US. We supply products from Orizaba to non-governmental organizations and the UN family planning program that receives donations in Africa and other nations. Through the investment, we expanded right next to our established sites, where we manufacture a variety of hormone products and have a factory for our dermatology product line.
One of our facilities in Orizaba is dedicated to manufacturing Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API). The major production of Bayer’s APIs is set in Germany; however, we have established our presence in the Americas and produce active ingredients for our sites worldwide.
In our plant in Lerma, closer to Mexico City, we operate with pharmaceutical and consumer health products. Here, we manufacture vitamins and ibuprofen, among others, and the site is also our main distribution center.
EF: What is the current state of innovation in Mexico, and what role does Bayer play in the future of medicine through its operations in Mexico?
DC: It is impossible to innovate on your own. It took big pharma quite some time to understand this. Only in the last five to six years, especially triggered by the pandemic, the message of joint innovation has expanded. Co-creation and collaboration are important to increase knowledge and involve academia, major and small industries, biotech, and all stakeholders in the healthcare system.
Bayer Mexico is active in many big clinical studies in cardiology and oncology. Besides the large trials, we are also working on some smaller, but important, details to optimize healthcare. We are trying new ways to work with contracts, figuring out how to measure the success of a product and risk sharing, and testing these ideas with smaller hospitals. The goal is to measure our impact on society and promote innovation by making agreements that benefit everyone involved. This approach has had positive effects on both the market and society.
We also adopt innovative strategies in the startup ecosystem, hosting an annual event that gathers all participants. This includes doctors transitioning to the digital realm, customers, and digital health startups addressing gaps in areas like digital receipts, prescriptions, and product tracing for proper use. Mexico is a very innovative country; in countries where challenges and barriers must be overcome, individuals come up with unexpected answers.
2024 and 2025 will be just like 2023—extremely unpredictable years marked by global conflicts and several political shifts that could affect not just the elections in Mexico but also those in the US and other nations. We must remain prepared for all of these unknowns, and the only way to do this is to be committed to our mission: Improving the lives of 10 million Mexicans.
EF: How is social responsibility Bayer contributing to improving the health of Mexican society?
DC: We need to connect with people, not just patients, to improve overall health, which in turn contributes to national development. Our commitment is to assist people in living better lives. We want to support 100 million women globally, especially those in vulnerable or impoverished communities, by offering access to family planning and better health. Considering the illiteracy among some indigenous communities in Mexico, we provide verbal and audio translations and write descriptions in various native languages. We conduct training sessions nationwide, focusing on the most vulnerable individuals. One primary goal is to extend diagnostic services to areas lacking clinical or hospital resources through our diagnosis program.
We actively engage in women's health initiatives to improve women’s overall well-being beyond just promoting Bayer products. Our key performance indicators (KPIs) focus on empowering women to enhance their lives and contribute to the quality of life in their communities. Our commitment to women's health goes beyond typical business practices. The press announcement revealing the positive results of Elinzanetant, a menopausal treatment medicine, was among the year's greatest news. Our aim is to bring normalcy to women experiencing menopause. Mexico will adopt this procedure soon, but in the interim, we can help normalize and raise awareness of many illnesses and issues of quality of life.
EF: How can you establish a cohesive work culture in a diverse multinational workplace?
DC: Every nation has a unique culture and environment, meaning that every individual needs a unique approach to motivation. I have worked with Bayer in six countries, finding joy in my work. My life goal is to positively impact others. I strive to creatively influence my team by emphasizing the company's mission. In my role in Mexico, I oversee 350 motivated individuals; witnessing this team enhance lives and find fulfillment in community contributions is wonderful.
After two outstanding years, we have surpassed Brazil in sales to take the top spot in the LATAM region. Brazil's market is twice as large as Mexico's, yet at Bayer Mexico, we sell more. In 2023, we had an impact on about 9,000,000 Mexicans, and we are about to reach 1 million more.
On a global level, Bayer is attempting to change the way of operation. We refer to it as Dynamic Share Ownership. We are moving away from rigid hierarchies and the conventional organizational structure. The work systems we know were developed following the Industrial Revolution, but the world has changed, and organizations must embrace a more flexible and adaptive structure.
Today, education is more accessible, and people are motivated by diverse factors. Setting restrictions on others is challenging. It is crucial to assess skills, not just knowledge. A skills-based company emphasizes teams with a shared objective, prioritizing collaboration over age, hierarchy, or experience. Collaboration is key, and accountability is shared among peers. Our organization is transitioning to a peer-to-peer evaluation system with dynamic job titles based on contributions. This revolution removes layers, making us agile and proactive, aligning with our mission. Embracing this transformation is not just a professional decision but one that resonates deeply with my heart and values.
