Vietnam Pharmaceutical Corp. Pays First Attention to Stabilising Medical Market

In 2005, the corporation’s revenue reached VND9,549.616 billion, equal to 119.2 per cent of the target set for the whole year and a substantial increase over 2004, is seen as a remarkable success of the Vietnam pharmaceutical Corporation. In general, the medicine market is stable, despite modest increases and decreases of prices on some kinds of medicines. In 2006, the pharmaceutical industry in general and the corporation in particular will face great challenges.

 

Common impacts of the world’s economy also take effect on many sectors including the pharmaceutical industry. Prices of input materials and transportation costs among other factors have increased, affecting produce price. In this context, apart from solutions for State management of the industry, the efforts of subsidiary companies has been acknowledged. Some solutions to settle the issue of price stabilisation are to actively boost production with further improved capacity, enhancing product quality, saving cost and reducing price.

 

Specifically, pharmaceutical companies have improved production facilities, giving further training to cadres and workers, meeting the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). Many factories have received GMP standard, a basis to make high-quality products of equal standard to those in the region. Companies pay due attention to improving equipment used in production and product quality control, giving birth to high technical products. Medicine has developed a large export market.

 

In 2005, subsidiary companies launched 2011 products of many kinds of which 188 new products have been brought into production and are consumed annually. There are many different types of medicine including pills, tablets, capsules, liquid and powder medicine for injection, all with good-looking, handy packaging and better preservation. Many technical innovations have been applied, bringing companies large profits

 

Against the backdrop of a high increase of input expenses and the competition of foreign pharmaceutical companies, the corporation requires subsidiary companies to pay more attention to reducing cost, increasing capacity, improving quality and reducing product price. After many years of promoting investment and enhancing quality, so far, Vietnamese medicine quality has been more and more improved. Vietnam has produced specific treatment drugs, high-tech processed medicines (spray,…) of which many are of equal quality to their imported counterparts. Drugs that Vietnam pharmaceutical industry has competitiveness are those made from pharmaceutical materials and traditionally compounded medicines which can treat diseases that western drugs can not.

 

However, the pharmaceutical industry doesn’t have a development plan yet (the Government requires the Ministry of Health to develop a project). In addition, the fixed expenses of 10 per cent of product price for advertising are low. There should be an adjustment or abolition of the regulation, giving this right to enterprises. Despite amended regulations on bid for medicine, there remain shortcomings, discouraging the use of domestic drugs. The sector’s difficulties have made impacts on the corporation. Therefore, pharmaceutical enterprises desire assistance from the Government’s policies on the development of the corporation in particular and Vietnamese pharmaceutical industry in general.