Vietnam aims to produce biological drugs: An opportunity to reduce cancer treatment costs.

This was shared by Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen during a discussion program on the development of Vietnam’s biopharmaceutical industry, jointly organized by Edelman and Vinapharm on the morning of May 28th in Hanoi.

According to Mr. Do Xuan Tuyen, the Vietnamese pharmaceutical industry has made strong progress in recent years. Currently, there are 242 drug manufacturing plants nationwide, of which 21 meet EU-GMP standards, producing more than 800 active ingredients belonging to 13 essential medicine groups of the WHO.

In particular, the Strategy for the Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry until 2030, with a vision to 2045, is concretized in the amended Law on Pharmaceuticals recently passed by the National Assembly, setting a target of producing 80% of the necessary medicines domestically and 70% of the market value by 2030.

Although Vietnam’s pharmaceutical industry is gradually asserting its role in the region, biotechnology remains a nascent field. Currently, the country has only one biotechnology drug manufacturing facility and two others in the research and development phase.

Biological products are mainly concentrated in a few vaccines produced using conventional technology; there are not many highly effective biological products used in the treatment of specialized, critical diseases or emerging epidemics. The research and development capacity of enterprises is still limited, failing to keep up with and apply modern biotechnology.

“Currently, Vietnam is only at the stage of coordinating late-stage clinical trials and cannot proactively research and develop from the very first step. Meanwhile, other countries have established closed-loop, continuous production processes, significantly reducing costs by eliminating intermediate steps that do not add value.”

We are moving towards proactively producing biological drugs , especially those for treating chronic diseases such as cancer.

“This way, people will have the opportunity to access medicine as quickly as possible, at the most affordable prices, reducing treatment costs for patients,” Mr. Tuyen said.

In the coming period, the State will focus on perfecting the legal system, implementing concentrated industrial zones, prioritizing the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industrial zone in Thai Binh and the high-tech medical and pharmaceutical zone in Ho Chi Minh City; prioritizing investment in biological products, vaccines, proprietary drugs, and high technology.

In addition, the Drug Administration will advise on policies to increase investment attractiveness, simplify procedures, strengthen intellectual property protection, and create an ecosystem to support research and production.

Mr. Ta Manh Hung, Director of the Drug Administration Department (Ministry of Health), also believes that the shift from producing generic drugs to biological drugs will open up great opportunities for domestic businesses.

“If Vietnam can master the technology and participate in the global supply chain, it can absolutely become a center for the production of biological drugs in the region,” Mr. Hung hoped.

What are biological drugs?

According to scientists, biological drugs are medical products containing active ingredients produced or extracted from a biological source (such as living cells or tissue). Biological products include many types such as vaccines, blood and blood components, allergens, somatic cells, gene therapy, and recombinant therapeutic proteins.

They are used to treat a wide range of diseases, especially complex ones like cancer, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and some rare diseases.

Source : https://tuoitre.vn/