Pharmaceutical Sector Needs to Increase Domestic Drug Use

Pharmaceutical Sector Needs to Increase Domestic Drug Use

Vietnam's pharmaceutical sector should improve quality and increase output of locally manufactured drugs, according to the National Strategy for Pharmaceutical Development for 2010.

At a conference organized by the Vietnam Pharmaceutical Management Department last week, participants, including health officials and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry stressed on using modern manufacturing technologies to increase the competitiveness of local companies.

Also at the conference, Dr Le Ngoc Trong, deputy minister of Public Health called for close cooperation between hospitals and local drug producers. “Hospitals should open their doors to domestic medicine manufacturers”, he said.

In Vietnam, imported medicines account for 80 per cent of the total medicines used in hospitals, while domestically produced medicines only make up 19-20 per cent; mainly lower-quality medicines with cheap prices, said Ministry of Health (MoH).

Vietnam has about 165 pharmaceutical producers, of which, 48 meet the ASEAN Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards. However, the rate of domestic drug use in hospitals is not high, with 30 per cent in the Vietnam-Germany Hospital or 33.2 per cent in the Hanoi Obstetrics Hospital.

The domestic pharmaceutical sector plans to meet 60 per cent of the demand by 2010, according to the strategy.

Last year, local firms contributed about 44 per cent of the demand and gained total revenues of VND4,700 billion (USUS$299.36 million). Per capita drug consumption, at USUS$7.6 now, is expected to reach USUS$12-USUS$15 by 2010.

The country now has 712 state, joint stock and private pharmaceutical firms, 7,500 private drug stores, 200 pharmacies in hospitals and more than 10,500 retailers. The domestic sector manufactures 7,569 drugs and foreign firms produce 4,500 drugs.

• VNS, Youth