“Why Do Americans and the Japanese Have Better Access to New Medications Than the Vietnamese? FPT Chairman Truong Gia Binh Questions the Disparity in Healthcare.”

At the Innovation Healthcare Forum on June 6th, Professor Dr. Truong Gia Binh, Head of the Private Economic Development Research Group and Chairman of FPT Corporation, emphasized that Vietnam is entering a new era of development with ambitious aspirations. In this journey, healthcare and pharmaceuticals are industries that cannot be left behind in the innovation revolution.

“This is the time for us to dream big and aim high,” said Mr. Binh, referring to recent achievements such as the implementation of citizen identity data within just seven months as evidence of Vietnam’s strong execution and digital transformation capabilities.

According to him, to realize these grand dreams, Vietnam needs a sustainable development framework, which he calls the “four pillars.” Specifically for the healthcare industry, three of these pillars are competitive mechanisms, innovation, and public-private cooperation.

From “if it can’t be managed, then ban it” to national competition

The first point emphasized by Mr. Binh is the need to change the mindset in building the healthcare industry’s mechanism. He asserted that we must decisively abandon the “if it can’t be managed, then ban it” attitude and instead adopt a mechanism as a tool for national competition. This means that healthcare should not only be a goal but also a driver for economic development.

Citing data from the pharmaceutical industry, he pointed out that in the past decade, 460 new drugs have been circulated globally, but only 9% of Vietnamese people have had access to them, while in Japan, this figure is 51%. “The question is: How can we increase this access from 9% to 51%? How can Vietnamese people access new drugs as quickly as Americans or Japanese?”, he asked, suggesting that if we make this a goal of national competitive mechanisms, we can certainly achieve it.

Innovation: Bringing Technology and AI into Pharmaceuticals

The second pillar is innovation, especially in the pharmaceutical industry. According to Mr. Binh, the message that the Prime Minister wants to convey to major pharmaceutical companies at the World Economic Forum in Davos is: Vietnam is determined to embrace technology.

“We have AI infrastructure, human resources, and applications. We can become the world’s largest clinical testing and testing center. Why not consider joint ventures between technology and pharmaceutical companies based on artificial intelligence to produce new drugs?”, he proposed.

Vietnam currently has about one million information technology engineers and aims to train 500,000 personnel with knowledge and skills in AI. He believes that this is a solid foundation not only to bring technology into the healthcare industry but also to master the field of innovative pharmaceuticals, one of the most advanced industries.

Public-Private Partnership: Empowering the Private Sector and Data Linkage

The third pillar mentioned by Professor Dr. Truong Gia Binh is to promote the role of the private sector, especially through data linkage and sharing. “Pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, doctors, and pharmacists must link up on a common data platform. We need to train a workforce that understands both information technology and artificial intelligence, as well as chemistry, physics, and biology,” he suggested.

According to him, Resolution 68-NQ/TW on private economic innovation is the foundation for expanding public-private cooperation in the healthcare industry. Developing a healthcare and pharmaceutical ecosystem with strong private sector involvement is the fastest way for Vietnam to reach new heights.

In conclusion, the Chairman of FPT stated that Vietnam can only truly join the ranks of developed countries if it dares to venture into the most advanced industries, with healthcare, especially innovative pharmaceuticals, being one of them.

“We must strive for the highest peaks and pursue our boldest dreams. And the most important thing today: Vietnam has chosen to enter an era of national advancement,” he concluded.

In addition to the speech by Chairman Truong Gia Binh, this year’s forum also gathered many experts and entrepreneurs in the healthcare and technology fields.