36% of Medicines Used in Vietnam in 2018 Produced Domestically: Ministry

As much as 36% of medicines used in Vietnam last year were locally-made products, which increased by five times compared to the rate five years ago, according to the Ministry of Health. The outcome was thanks to the country’s “Vietnamese prioritize Vietnamese medicines” scheme, which is part of the national strategy on developing Vietnam’s pharmaceutical industry. The scheme aims to raise the rate of locally-made medicines and prioritize those products in auctions. The Ministry of Health has recently issued Circular 03/2019/TT-BYT on the list of 640 standardized Made-in-Vietnam medicine titles, up from 146 ones as stipulated on the ministry’s Circular 10/2016/TT-BYT. The size of Vietnam’s pharmaceutical market was $5.2 billion in 2017 and the figure is expected to reach $7.7 billion in 2021. The market is set for double-digit growth rate within the next five years, according to Vietnam Report Company. Currently, Vietnam has 180 pharmaceutical manufacturing firms, both domestic and foreign-invested ones. Of which, 194 plants in 158 firms have met the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). All 180 businesses use around 60,000 tons of materials annually, 80%-90% of which are imported, mostly from China and India. (VnExpress, PetroTimes, VTV, VnExpress)