From Hospital Shelves to Street Stalls: Mexico Confirms Drug Diversion and Bets on Tech

Demonstrators hold a banner reading "We Want Medicine" during a protest organized by the civil association Nariz Roja in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, on August 9, 2025. The march called attention to shortages of cancer medications in the country. (Credit: Photo by Ulises Ruiz / AFP via Getty Images)

The Briefing:

• Health Undersecretary Eduardo Clark confirmed documented cases of publicly funded medications being diverted from Mexico's hospitals and resold commercially—including at shops operating steps outside clinic entrances—at President Sheinbaum's morning press conference on October 20.
• The Sheinbaum government announced plans to digitize pharmaceutical supply chains and make identification markings on free-medication boxes more visible; however, no implementation date, technology platform, or budget has been officially confirmed.
• Clark disclosed at the same press conference that the government recently paid close to 10 billion pesos in overdue pharmaceutical invoices—while simultaneously acknowledging that roughly another 10 billion pesos remains outstanding.