Domestic Pharmaceutical Industry Needs Reshuffling

Vietnamese drug companies are currently unable to manufacture patent medicines. Domestic medicine production is now capable of meeting 39 per cent of the demand of hospitals but most of outputs are cheap drugs. Vietnamese drug companies now only focus on the preparation stage and they make similar products. Although domestic medicines account for 48.3 per cent of the market share with annual revenues of VND7,000-8,000 billion (US$437.5-500 million), their quality remains very low.

 

According to the figures from the Vietnam Drug Administration under the Ministry of Health, among 174 modern medicine production companies, only 59 reach the good manufacturing practice (GMP) standard while 115 remain substandard. According to experts, Vietnam lacks a professional distribution networks although it has up to 897 drug importers and distributors and above 57,000 drugstores. As a result, after-sales services are very poor.

 

Under the Vietnam Pharmaceutical Industry Development Plan to 2010 and vision to 2015 compiled by the Vietnam Drug Administration, the domestically manufactured drugs will make up 60 per cent of the market share by 2010. In the 2006-2010 period, the health sector will invest US$241 million to develop eight projects to meet 80 per cent of the drug demand by 2015.

 

Health Minister Tran Thi Trung Chien said, to sharpen the competitive edge prior to the international economic integration, Vietnamese drug firms need to expand production, improve product quality and train good human resources. A close link between medicine schools, companies and hospitals to research, manufacture and sell pharmaceuticals should be established.
Huong Ly-Kim Phuong