Read the Conversation

EF: How are your collaborations with the Georgia Institute and National Institute of public health going?

CT: We have a lot of expectations for this year. There will be a precision medicine congress and the first results of our study. This collaboration is one of the three studies we are conducting in the next two years to get a document on public policy for NCDs with a gender twist on women. 52% of our population are women, so it is important to have a public policy and development that encompasses women. Women impact the Mexican economy greatly, more than people think. We will have the results and recommendations at the end of the year. That is where our focus is at the moment. Women in our country make many important decisions, and they show their commitment through these decisions.  

EF: Can you elaborate more on the precision medicine initiative and the readiness of the Mexican market?

CT: Mexico's preparedness is low. Precision medicine is not a priority from the government's perspective, so they will not push this initiative. The private sector will move forward with it instead. We are working with Salud Digna on this project. It is called precision health, not precision medicine because it goes beyond medicine. We are seeking more collaborative partners and talking about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions and how they can accelerate early diagnosis with higher precision. The cancer institute has AI to detect breast cancer at a 98.5% precision rate. That is how effective AI solutions are.

We speak to different people and work on AI solutions in Mexico and Latin America. Our collaborations go beyond people and companies in Mexico. There are unknown teams in Latin America working on artificial intelligence that have succeeded. Now we are finding ways to accelerate our collaborations with these groups. It is important to elevate the awareness of the progress and advancements in the world. We want to change our government’s way of thinking and get them to start using AI.  

We want to start using AI and building the precision health initiative in the next two years. It requires more attention and more collaborative partners to have a starting foundation. It may not be a big plan, but we are looking for more collaborative partners to help expand our agenda and the initiative.  
An upcoming meeting will include specialists from Mexico and Latin America and people involved in AI initiatives. The main discussions will be on AI's impact on diagnosis and health.  

The agenda for forums and innovative seminars always tend to be different from my initial thoughts. We all have different ways of looking at and thinking about things. The butterfly defect by Ian Golding is an example of how a different perspective can prepare a person or a nation for the future. In the butterfly defect, Ian mentioned this pandemic; he mentioned it in his book back in 2014. All we had to do was heed his warnings and prepare for the pandemic.

EF: Is there anything you would like to highlight about the gender twist trial?

CT: When trials are created, there is generally no differentiation of each trial's impact on men and women in regional and seasonal pharma. The differences in results for men and women have never been discussed. This is why we are starting the gender with a twist trial. There should be more equality in clinical research. This will be a game-changer. It will elevate the gender differences and NCDs. NCDs affect the whole world, and we believe the best voice to highlight this fact is women.
When we talk about interventions with the private sector and how we address NCDs from women's perspective, it is more specific and a game-changer. It will be an intense study. As more information comes, we will educate more stakeholders to become more understanding of this issue.  

EF: What advice would you give to paying attention to non-communicable diseases?

CT: During the pandemic, the main focus was on covid, which led to an increase in non-communicable diseases. We are beginning to learn the secondary impact of the pandemic. Each country will now have to go back to the main causes of mortality conditions and start fighting once again. Governments will have to start thinking and planning how to avoid other pandemics.

Globally, we have to start thinking differently about logistics and management systems. Most people are now settling back to normal. The G7 and G20 reports are on future pandemic preparedness. We need to have critical thinkers that will help improve each country’s plans to become better prepared for the future. We have to bring together technology solution companies and health, not just medicine.  

Private sectors have to start thinking about how they can help their governments with more efficient ways of taking care of health. We have to think about innovations that improve the country and how to get funding to sustain those innovative solutions.  

We are in the last third of our presidential administration, so we will have new candidates running for the presidency soon. Governments and administrative offices should start thinking long-term. The private sector has to develop innovative proposals that add value to the government. There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle that need to be put in place. At this time, we should be at the drawing board, coming up with solutions for sustainability. We have plans that go on until 2024. We need input from AMIIF, device, and telemedicine companies to devise the best strategy.

Eighteen million people live in small communities, which is 15% of the population. We can reach these small communities through telemedicine. We need to understand the country’s reality to develop an innovative and sustainable health plan. A plan that does not depict the truth and solve problems is not chosen, and a plan not chosen is a plan not implanted.  

EF: Is there anything specific you want to highlight?

CT: NCDs need to be highlighted. NCDs keep increasing, which is a major financial challenge for the market. There has to be an early diagnosis for earlier pharma innovation and intervention. Here in Mexico, we have to improve our pharma innovation time. There is a need for precision medicine.
We need to talk about the patient's needs, accurate and early diagnosis, precision medicine, and the right treatment. The government usually buys generic drugs for everybody, which does not work. The government needs to be educated to gain the right precision mindset.  

The ideal model is a success model. A success model encompasses pharma companies sharing their successful trial studies, treatments, and medicine. After the treatment has been administered, the outcome has to be monitored and the details recorded. A fully integrated clinical trial solution leads to a successful trial.

Companies have to follow up with their trial patients and see if they take their medicines often enough, if they get regular checkups, and if they need digital solutions to maintain their treatment plan. The follow-up is important, and so is the patient's confidentiality. The follow-up is crucial because it shows the treatment's results and effects. It also saves companies from continuously financing an unsuccessful clinical trial. Trial efficiency is the most important. There is an upcoming forum that will be based on fund efficiency. The main issue is to come up with global solutions.

Mental health is at the top of the agenda. It is going to be the next pandemic and has already started happening. We need to figure out how to intervene and eliminate the stigma of mental conditions. It is something that should always be at the top of the agenda.

Posted 
May 2022
 in 
Mexico
 region