Bayer gives big in new Mexican channel for drug funding

A new channel has been set up by the non-profit organization Direct Relief to allow pharma companies operating in Mexico to make tariff-free voluntary donations of medicines made in Mexico to low-income patients in the country.

USA-based Direct Relief has already donated more than $35 million-worth of medicines since it set up its Mexican operation in 2014 with the support of US drugmaker AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), healthcare giant Baxter (NYSE: BAX) and delivery firm FedEx (NYSE: FDX). The following year the Mexican government granted Direct Relief authorized donor status, meaning that companies could receive tax benefits in return for donating to the cause.

Now a formal channel has been set up for pharma companies to contribute without facing trade tariffs, and German pharma major Bayer (BAYN: DE) is the first to give via this mechanism. It has donated 26.5 metric tons, being donated through a network of local organizations linked to Direct Relief.