Heavy burden of drug costs
According to statistics, Vietnamese people are currently having to pay for 40% of medical expenses, double the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendations, creating an economic burden that makes many people reluctant to seek treatment.
Mr. N.T.T, 60 years old, residing in Long An, has had diabetes for 10 years. Blood sugar levels regularly rise, with complications appearing in the feet and nerves, so he has to undergo regular check-ups and take prescribed medication. He said he spends over one million dong on medication every month, and some specialized drugs are not covered by health insurance or are only partially covered. Having to use his own money to buy medicine while his family is still in difficulties has caused him great concern.
Meanwhile, experts assess that Vietnam is facing the burden of non-communicable diseases. Reports from hospitals show that 65-75% of inpatients have non-communicable diseases. This leads to an increase in patients’ medical expenses. The aging population in our country, as well as the model of dual diseases (communicable and non-communicable diseases), pose challenges to the healthcare sector.
According to experts, one of the reasons for the high cost of medicine in Vietnam is the need to import many types of drugs, with estimated prices 20-25% higher than in China and India. Imported drugs make up 80% of the domestic pharmaceutical market, which is a difficult issue to resolve.
Meanwhile, domestic pharmaceutical companies mainly produce generic drugs. The duplication in production in this segment makes competition in drug prices more fierce. The segment of original biopharmaceuticals (innovative drugs) is primarily imported from foreign countries, and some of these drugs are not included in the health insurance list.
Technology transfer in manufacturing, solving cost problems
In the face of these challenges, pharmaceutical companies like Imexpharm (IMP) have made changes in their direction and strategic collaboration with international pharmaceutical companies. The strategy of technology transfer in the production of innovative biopharmaceuticals, specialized drugs along with Genuone Science – one of the leading pharmaceutical companies from Korea, helps IMP optimize the cost of drugs, save costs for patients, and contribute together with domestic pharmaceuticals. This step also meets the increasing demand for chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, which have changed significantly in our country.
IMP has boldly improved its research and development (R&D) capacity, focusing on products with advanced technology; at the same time, it also focuses on investment in modern machinery systems, meeting EU-GMP standards (Good Manufacturing Practice according to European standards) through the direction of “Top quality – European standard”.
Imexpharm is currently a pharmaceutical company that owns a large factory cluster and a large number of EU-GMP production lines in Vietnam. Image source: Imexpharm
Currently, the company owns 3 modern EU-GMP standard factories, with 11 production lines that meet EU-GMP standards. Previously, IMP was the first Vietnamese company to meet the ASEAN-GMP standard for good manufacturing practice.
“Focusing on investment in EU-GMP standards not only enhances Imexpharm’s competitiveness with foreign pharmaceutical companies in the domestic market but also prepares firmly for Imexpharm to step into the global pharmaceutical supply chain,” said Mr. Tran Thi Dao, People’s Doctor, Pharmacist, and CEO of Imexpharm.
IMP has distributed and circulated 11 products (with 27 registration numbers) in Europe alone, and in 2023, the company obtained 11 product registration numbers in Europe, among which 6 products are difficult ones like Ampicillin, Sulbactam,…
IMP also aims to expand the export market and is ready to penetrate new markets in ASEAN countries through the establishment of a global partnership development team to exploit foreign markets. In 2023, IMP has strengthened its export activities such as organizing product introduction booths at major international pharmaceutical events – CPhI Worldwide in Barcelona (Spain) and continuously surveying potential export markets such as Cambodia, Myanmar,…
The company said that in early 2024, IMP successfully exported the first batch of antibiotics to Mongolia by air freight.
With strong investment in R&D, Imexpharm expects strong growth in the export field. Image source: Imexpharm
Maintaining and continuing to strengthen cooperation with international partners, affirming the position as a licensed production partner of many leading multinational pharmaceutical corporations is also one of IMP’s strategies. In addition to technology transfer and import, production, and distribution partnerships with Genuone Sciences (Korea), the company is currently also a partner of Sandoz, DP Pharma, Galien, Pharmascience Canada, Sanofi-Aventis,…
With a flexible strategy, strong investment in R&D, and an expectation of strong growth in the export field, IMP is increasingly affirming its position in the Vietnamese pharmaceutical industry and contributing to bringing the Vietnamese pharmaceutical industry to the world.
Mr. Sam Lee – CEO of Genuone Sciences, assesses IMP as an integrated pharmaceutical company in research, production, and business that has achieved achievements in terms of quality, technology, production lines, and has boldly approached new markets. The successful investment plan in the development of high-quality drugs by Imexpharm suggests many directions for companies to exploit the potential and make Vietnam become a high-value pharmaceutical production center in the region.
