At the event. (Photo: VNA) Geneva (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Le Linh Lan has suggested Novartis promote cooperation with private corporations with great potential in Vietnam in pharmaceuticals research and production in the Southeast Asian country.
She made a suggestion during a working visit to the headquarters of Novartis Pharmaceutical Group in Basel city on September 15.
The ambassador valued Novartis's activities in Vietnam and said she hoped that the group would pay attention to support the country in accessing vaccines and especially medicines to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lutz Hegemann, the group's Head of Corporate Affairs & Global Health, said although Novartis does not directly develop vaccine technology, it boasts advanced pharmaceutical production infrastructure. It is cooperating with Pfizer and BioNTech to produce mRNA vaccine at Novartis' factories, contributing to speeding up the production and supply of this vaccine globally, he said.
In addition, it is accelerating research and production of drugs to treat COVID-19. Novartis has so far successfully produced many generic drugs to treat COVID-19, including those that are applying for a license for use in Vietnam.
To expand operations in Vietnam, in January last year, Novartis established Novartis Vietnam Co.Ltd, becoming one of the first multinational pharmaceutical groups in Vietnam to successfully transform from a representative office into a foreign-invested enterprise operating in the field of drug import. Novartis invested more than 6 million USD to set up necessary facilities for Novartis Vietnam Co.Ltd, including operating a GSP standard drug storage warehouse.
To support Vietnam in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the group has offered support packages for Vietnam with a total value of about 400,000 USD, said Rachel O'Neale, General Director of Novartis Vietnam.
The Novartis leader committed to accompanying and promoting cooperation in the new normal period to effectively control the pandemic and post-COVID-19 recovery./.
