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By KELIN DILLON

According to new figures released by Mexican civil society groups’ Radiography Report of the Drug Shortage, Mexico’s controversial so-called Megapharmacy has allegedly only managed to fill approximately 9 percent of requested prescriptions since it began operations in December 2023.

The Megapharmacy reportedly only delivered 648 of 7,593 requested prescription medications between December 29, 2023 to March 20, 2024, with each prescription taking up to 65 days to fulfill.

However, the figures are still an improvement from the Megapharmacy’s previous one percent prescription fulfillment rate registered in February of this year.

The data highlights the state-owned pharmacy’s inability to fulfill prescriptions for Mexico’s public health services like the Social Security Institute (IMSS), IMSS Health Services (IMSS-BIENESTAR) and the Civil Service Social Security and Services Institute (ISSSTE). 

Of the 5,134 medications requested by IMSS patients from the Megapharcy during its first three months of operations, the facility only fulfilled one prescription after approximately 26 days. Likewise, only 356 of the 1,753 medications requested by IMSS-BIENESTAR patients were fulfilled by the Megapharmacy with an average processing time of 26.2 days, while just 291 of ISSSTE patients’ 706 requested prescriptions were fulfilled by the facility with an average 15.4 day wait.

The report highlighted a high level of requests for medications to treat diabetes, dyslipidemia and hypertension, as well as a significant amount of requests for paracetamol. 

“The requests for paracetamol are also striking, which is a medication that in general is always counted for its low cost and easy supply,” added the civil societies.