Future bright for Vietnamese pharmaceutical market

Vietnam’s medical equipment and pharmaceutical markets have seen double-digit growth in recent years and that momentum would continue, making the country increasingly attractive to foreign investors, experts have said.
Future bright for Vietnamese pharmaceutical market ảnh 1Workers package pharmaceuticals at a factory (Photo: VNA)

HCM City (VNS/VNA)– Vietnam’s medical equipment and pharmaceutical markets have seen double-digitgrowth in recent years and that momentum would continue, making the countryincreasingly attractive to foreign investors, experts have said.

According to Business Monitor International, Vietnam’s health care expenditurewas estimated at 16.1 billion USD in 2017, representing 7.5 percent of its GDP.The figure will grow at 12.5 percent a year to 22.7 billion USD by 2021, itsaid.

It also predicted double-digit growth in the next few years for the medicalequipment and drug markets.

Vo Tan Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry(VCCI), said the pharmaceutical industry had seen two-digit growth in recentyears and that would continue until 2022.

“The demand for quality health care is growing every year with rising incomesin Vietnam. Moreover, the changing disease patterns with the inexorableincrease in the elderly population of over 60 years will also contribute togreater healthcare spending in Vietnam.

“Although the domesticpharmaceutical industry has made great progress, it only meets 52.5 percent ofdemand.”

Domestic production consists of mostly generic drugs produced for domesticconsumption and outsourcing for foreign enterprises.

“On average, around 60,000 tonnes of pharmaceutical materials are consumed eachyear, of which 80-90 percent is imported, mainly from China and India.”

Drug imports cost 2.8 billion USD in 2017, up10 percent from 2016, and 3 billion USD last year, he said.

“Therewill be higher demand for affordable medicines as well as sophisticated medicaldevices and equipment.”

Hua Phu Doan, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the HCM City MedicalEquipment Association, told a recent event the medical equipment market hasbeen growing 18 percent in recent years, with imports accounting for more than90 percent.

Vietnam buys mainly diagnostic imaging equipment such as X-ray, ultrasound,magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners and equipment usedfor surgery, endoscopy, sterilisation, testing, and medical waste treatment.

The market is expected to grow by over 20 percent annually on the back of Vietnam’shigh economic growth, he said.

Hospitals and clinics will have greater demand for modern medical equipment toreplace obsolete equipment. Besides, there are more hospitals, clinics, andbeauty salons in the pipeline, which will create additional demand for medicaldevices.

K Srikar Reddy, the Indian Consul General to HCM City, said Vietnam is rapidlyemerging as a medical tourism destination in the region.

Last year nearly 15.5 million foreigners visited the country, many for medicaltreatment, and many health care facilities have sprung up to serve theseinternational patients, he said.

Many Indian firms are keen on the Vietnamesemarket and want to develop beneficial long-termbusiness relationships in the pharmaceuticals, medical and hospital sectorswith Vietnamese partners, he said.

To help local professionals keep abreast of new technologies and drugs and foreignexhibitors find distributors and business partners in Vietnam, ADPEX Joint Stock Company has collaboratedwith the Vietnam Pharmaceutical Companies Association and Vietnam MedicalProducts Import – Export Joint Stock Company to organise Pharmed &Healthcare Vietnam expo in HCM City from September 11  to 14.

To be held at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre, Pharmed &Healthcare Vietnam 2019 has attracted exhibitors from countries and territorieswith a developed health care sector like Germany, France, the Czech Republic,Canada, the Republic of Korea, Japan, China, Pakistan, Italy, Singapore,Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The exhibition will have 600 booths showcasing a wide range of the latestpharmaceutical products, drug manufacturing and packaging machinery, diagnosticequipment, healthcare and rehabilitation equipment, surgical instruments,dental and ophthalmological and aesthetic equipment and products.

It will also feature a series of conferences and seminars chaired by nationaland international experts.-VNS/VNA
VNA

See more

Examining blood samples for rapid Malaria detection in the community at the Khanh Hoa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. (Photo: Photo: VNA)

Malaria cases in Vietnam down 20% in 2024

According to Dr. Hoang Dinh Canh, Director of the Central Institute of Malaria, Parasitology, and Entomology, from 2014 to 2024, the number of malaria cases and deaths has gradually declined year on year, with a decrease of 97.76% from 15,752 cases to 353 cases per year.

Over 200 health professionals from the University Medical Centre Ho Chi Minh City (UMC) successfully perform organ procurement and transplantation on January 25. (Photo: VNA)

Brain-dead organ donor helps save four people

The surgeries marked significant milestones in organ donation counselling and advocacy efforts across southern localities, helping to expand the national organ donation network, spread a message of humanity, and offer hope and life-saving opportunities to many patients.

At the MoU signing ceremony between TAMRI and the University of Oxford. (Photo: baochinhphu.vn)

Vietnam, UK step up medical research, training cooperation

Tam Anh Research Institute (TAMRI) under Tam Anh General Hospital Group has recently announced its Memorandum of Understanding on scientific research and medical training collaboration with the University of Oxford, marking the prestigious British institution’s first bilateral agreement with a Vietnamese research institute and hospital system.

Passengers conduct immigration procedures at Huu Nghi International Border Gate in Lang Son province. (Photo: VNA)

Heightened measures put in place at Tet holiday to counter infectious diseases

The Ministry of Health has sent a document to the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities regarding the strengthening of infectious disease prevention and control during the Lunar New Year (Tet) and the 2025 festival season, given increases in contagious diseases, especially respiratory illnesses, around the world.

Representatives of ChungAng University Hospital (RoK) and Doosan Vina present medical supplies to General Hospital of Quang Ngai province (Photo: VNA)

RoK hospital provides medical checkups, equipment to Quang Ngai residents

A delegation from the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s ChungAng University Hospital on January 15 delivered free medical checkups, consultations, and medicines for nearly 1,000 residents of Nghia Ha, Tinh Long, and Tinh An communes of Quang Ngai city and patients at the General Hospital in the central province of Quang Ngai.

As many as 41 families agree to donate organs and tissues of brain-dead relatives in 2024. - Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam makes strides in organ donation, transplantation

Dozens of organ and tissue donation advocacy groups have been established, with strong participation of both public and private healthcare facilities, helping to significantly lift the number of individuals registering for posthumous organ and tissue donation, heard a conference in Hanoi on January 7.