Imexpharm: 45 Years of Glory and Responsible Business

The year 2022 marks an important event: the 45th anniversary of Imexpharm Corporation. With the business philosophy of “1,000 years later, lotus still in bloom,” and the belief of “business for social service”, Imexpharm has achieved remarkable successes in business and social security over the past four decades and confidently affirmed its position as one of the leading pharmaceutical producers in Vietnam. The corporation was honorably named Labor Hero by the President of Vietnam in recognition of its great contributions. President of the Board of Directors of Imexpharm Nguyen Quoc Dinh shared the important milestones and the success story of Imexpharm with our reporters.

In its 45-year history, Imexpharm has confidently asserted its position in the Vietnamese pharmaceutical industry. Could you please introduce some of your outstanding achievements and impressive figures?

In the early days of our operation, we confronted numerous challenges arising from the modest infrastructure system and insufficient human resources. After 45 years of development, Imexpharm has now risen to assert its position in the marketplace and bloomed like a lotus full of vitality. Since the early days of hardship and deprivation, our current factories have increased by more than 76 times by area; our equity has risen by 81 times, and our personnel has been expanded by 60 times. The company’s products are currently in 25.8% of Vietnam's pharmaceutical retailers.

With the mission of “Offering effective solutions for social health care”, Imexpharm affirms its mission of providing high-quality products and healthcare services for everyone. Over 45 years of development, Imexpharm has followed the right path outlined by the Board of Directors on the outset to obtain achievements like today. Notably, its three factories meet European standards with 11 production lines that manufacture a diverse range of products, thus contributing to Vietnam’s pharmaceutical development.

Up to now, Imexpharm pharmaceutical brands have become familiar in Vietnam's medical and pharmaceutical industry and have been trusted by specialists for treatment effects. Simultaneously, with factories in Cao Lanh, Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City and 20 sales branches, Imexpharm is proud to be home to more than 1,200 employees, ensure employment and career development for employees, and contribute to community development.

What are the important factors for Imexpharm to achieve the current success, to stand firm in the market and gain the trust of domestic and foreign investors?

Our success comes from the ongoing efforts of experienced, qualified and well-trained employees who have offered continuous improvements, willingly accepted changes and actively applied advanced techniques and technologies to enhance business performance.

Another important factor is transparent and responsible management to employees, shareholders, customers, suppliers and partners to build an image of a reputable and reliable Imexpharm. But, the most important core is that we have a diverse product portfolio for treatment requirements on both channels - OTC (pharmacies) and ETC (hospitals and clinics). Imexpharm's strength rests in new-generation antibiotics, manufactured on an EU-GMP-standard modern production line system, to have highly effective treatment for patients. Products trusted by experts have helped Imexpharm affirm its prestige and brand position in the Vietnamese pharmaceutical market. The typical products include Claminat, Bactamox and Imetoxim. We are also famous for other product lines like Probio for digestive tract, and Cedipect and Cedituss for cough treatment.

Now, we can confidently affirm that Imexpharm's successes and steady progress are crystallized by good investment for product quality, human resources and management systems to bring the best value to customers and consumers.

In the past 45 years, how has Imexpharm focused on sustainable business? What is the company's sustainable development strategy in the coming time?

As a responsible manufacturer, Imexpharm focuses on investing in advanced standards to meet strict health and safety standards for factory workers and minimizing environmental impacts. Therefore, the company's products are also very safe for users' health. When building a new factory, we always conduct thorough due diligence on social and environmental criteria before kicking it off.

Imexpharm’s strength rests in antibiotics production. We manufacture antibiotics of the highest standards from world-class input materials and effectively treat wastewater and solid waste to remove antibiotic radicals before discharge into the environment. Simultaneously, Imexpharm has also studied and manufactured new antibiotic combinations and become the first choice for treatment of respiratory infections because they typically have a very low rate of bacteria resistance and a high sensitivity rate. This effort has helped minimize current antibiotic resistance according to warnings from the World Health Organization (WHO).

From the foundation for success, Imexpharm's sustainable development strategy is built closely on five main pillars of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Human, habitat, prosperity, cooperation, and decent organization.

2022 is also the last year of the 2018-2022 term. What are the key solutions to accomplish your business goals?

Over the past four decades, Imexpharm has always led the domestic pharmaceutical industry in product quality. In the 2018-2022 term, we mainly focused investment on building new factories that meet EU-GMP standards, thus having the largest number of EU-GMP production lines in Vietnam up to now with 11 production lines.

With its transparent and stable financial foundation, Imexpharm is highly appreciated by domestic and foreign investors. In 2020, the company officially had a strategic shareholder, SK Group, a conglomerate from South Korea. We also gained approval for an US$8 million loan by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to stockpile input materials, and keep continuous production and business amid the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak to supply enough medicines for people.

Imexpharm is working hard to quickly complete its business goals in 2022. In response to the annual World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (from November 18 to November 24), the company is hosting a series of workshops on “Advice and selection of antibiotics for respiratory infection treatment in the era of drug resistance” for its loyal customers. 10 workshops will be held in nine major cities from mid-November to mid-December.

2022 is the last year to wrap up the 2018-2022 term. This term has focused on building a strong foundation for Imexpharm's breakthrough growth in the coming time. At the same time, we are working together to develop growth target plans for the next term of 2023-2027.

Besides, Imexpharm always regards people as the most precious capital and the most important factor of growth. Therefore, the company pays special attention to building a good working environment and regularly offers policies to attract and retain talented people. At the same time, human development, sustainable career development, and physical and mental health care are always prioritized. Comprehensive human development is always a priority in Imexpharm's development process in the present and in the future.

Thank you very much!

Thanh Tung (Vietnam Business Forum)