Promoting the implementation of the National Strategy for the Development of the Vietnamese Pharmaceutical Industry

At the Ministry of Health headquarters, Associate Professor, Doctor of Medicine Nguyen Tri Thuc - Deputy Minister of Health - chaired a meeting to review the implementation of tasks in the Vietnamese pharmaceutical industry and prepare for the National Steering Committee meeting on the development of the Vietnamese pharmaceutical industry.

At the meeting, delegates reviewed and reported on the progress of implementing tasks according to Decision No. 1165/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister : Approving the National Strategy for the Development of the Vietnamese Pharmaceutical Industry for the period up to 2030 and vision to 2045 (Strategy 1165) and Decision No. 376/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister: Approving the Program for the Development of the Domestic Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Herb Industry up to 2030, vision to 2045 (Program 376).

Associate Professor, Doctor of Medicine Nguyen Tri Thuc - Deputy Minister of Health, chaired the meeting.

Some notable achievements include a total of 30,411 registered drugs currently in circulation, corresponding to 1,040 active ingredients, covering 27 pharmacological action groups according to WHO classification and basically meeting the treatment needs of the people; the value of domestically produced drugs accounts for approximately 70% of the quantity used and nearly 50% of the value. Drug production has an annual growth rate of 12-15%.

Nationwide, there are 6 registered factories producing raw materials and several smaller units located at universities and research institutes. Domestically sourced raw materials used in drug production currently account for 5.2% of active ingredients and 9.8% of excipients.

In Vietnam, there are 6 vaccine manufacturing plants producing 16 types of vaccines, supplying 11 out of 12 vaccines in the Expanded Immunization Program and for private vaccination services. Currently, approximately 50 imported vaccines are licensed for circulation.

The entire pharmaceutical industry has 22 original branded drug products for which manufacturing technology has been transferred from multinational pharmaceutical corporations.

The Ministry of Health is coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and local authorities to implement the plan. According to the plan, the eight key medicinal plant regions of Vietnam include: Northwest, Northeast, Red River Delta, North Central, South Central Coast, Central Highlands, Southeast, and Southwest.

The Institute of Medicinal Materials, Ministry of Health, has announced the registration of 6 imported medicinal plant varieties: Angelica sinensis, White atractylodes, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Platycodon grandiflorus, Codonopsis pilosula, and Scutellaria baicalensis, and is currently conducting evaluations to self-declare and circulate samples of Indian ginseng.

Following a direct assessment of Vietnam's national drug and vaccine management system by a team of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) using the WHO's NRA assessment software, the Ministry of Health is implementing measures to address WHO recommendations in order to achieve Level 3 WHO certification for the capacity of state management agencies regarding drugs and vaccines.

The head of the Drug Administration Department reported at the meeting.

Drug quality control is carried out at both pre-market and post-market stages. Drugs manufactured or imported must undergo quality checks before being released to the market. Facilities are only permitted to ship drugs that have been inspected and meet the registered and approved quality standards.

High-risk drugs such as vaccines, biological products, and drugs from foreign manufacturers that have previously had quality violations must be re-tested by a GLP-certified testing facility designated by the Ministry of Health.

During the production and distribution of medicines, quality control and sampling are also carried out by the state testing system. Annually, this system collects 30,000-40,000 drug samples from the market for quality testing.

Drug quality monitoring sampling activities are carried out with a focus on drugs at risk of quality issues and drugs from manufacturers that produce substandard products. The rate of substandard drugs is maintained at below 1%; the rate of counterfeit drugs is below 0.1%.

To date, 100% of central and provincial hospitals, and over 90% of former district hospitals and private hospitals have implemented clinical pharmacy activities.

The Drug Administration Department (Ministry of Health) regularly updates complete information on drugs that have been granted or renewed marketing authorization on its online public service portal; currently, 53,122 drug and pharmaceutical raw material data records have been published. In addition, the results of online processing of changes, additions, and corrections have been integrated into the history section of each drug.

The ratio of university-trained pharmacists per 10,000 people will be 3.3 in 2024 and approximately 3.4 in 2025; the value of pharmaceutical exports is expected to reach approximately US$312 million in 2025.

At the meeting, delegates also reported on the implementation and preparation for the National Steering Committee Meeting on the Development of the Vietnamese Pharmaceutical Industry, for the period up to 2030, with a vision to 2045.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Tri Thuc requested the Drug Administration of Vietnam to continue reviewing its assigned tasks for 2026 to develop a plan for serving the development of Vietnam's pharmaceutical industry, ensuring the achievement of the goals set out in Strategy 1165 and Program 376.

At the meeting, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Tri Thuc requested the Drug Administration Department to continue reviewing the assigned tasks for 2026 to develop a plan for serving the development of the Vietnamese pharmaceutical industry, ensuring the achievement of the goals set out in Strategy 1165 and Program 376.

All tasks must be implemented scientifically, carefully, transparently, in accordance with legal procedures, and closely adhere to Government Resolution No. 282/NQ-CP on the issuance of the Government's Action Program to implement Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW dated September 9, 2025, of the Politburo on some breakthrough solutions to strengthen the protection, care, and improvement of people's health.

At the same time, the Deputy Minister requested the focal unit, the Drug Administration of Vietnam, to prepare a detailed draft report on the progress of implementing the National Strategy for the Development of Vietnam's Pharmaceutical Industry and the Program for the Development of the Domestic Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Herb Industry for the period up to 2030, with a vision to 2045;

Draft Action Plan of the Steering Committee; Guidance for discussion and proposals to organize the National Steering Committee Meeting on the Development of the Vietnamese Pharmaceutical Industry in a thorough and unified manner.

Source: https://suckhoedoisong.vn/day-manh-thuc-hien-chien-luoc-quoc-gia-phat-trien-nganh-duoc-viet-nam-169260114093358129.htm