Drug advertising is not "anything you want to put up"

Pharmaceutical development is an essential need.

On the afternoon of June 26, continuing the 7th Session, the National Assembly discussed in the hall the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Pharmacy.

Speaking to explain and clarify the opinions of the National Assembly deputies at the discussion session, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan, on behalf of the Drafting Committee, expressed her gratitude to the National Assembly for its attention to the health sector in general and the pharmaceutical sector in particular. In recent times, with support policies for the health sector as well as the pharmaceutical sector, there have been steps forward to serve the work of medical examination and treatment for the people.

Regarding the pharmaceutical industry development policy, Ms. Lan said that the 2016 Pharmacy Law also has policies to enhance self-sufficiency, which is essential for disease prevention and treatment.

The Minister informed that at that time we focused on generic drugs. Because our country still had many difficulties in resources, the goal of that period was to focus on producing generic drugs.

According to the Minister, the 2016 Pharmacy Law on the development of the pharmaceutical industry has also made progress. Specifically: If in 2016 our country only had 167 pharmaceutical production facilities, by 2023 it had increased to 238 facilities; The value of drug production increased from 20% to nearly 50% of the value of drugs used; domestic drug production basically meets the demand for essential drugs and common drugs for medical examination and treatment.

Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan explained and clarified a number of issues raised by National Assembly deputies.

The head of the health sector believes that with changing disease patterns, with higher goals and to promptly solve practical problems, focusing on developing the pharmaceutical industry is a very essential need.

In 2016, the pharmaceutical industry still faced many difficulties, but at this time, with the issued policy systems and development goals oriented by the Central Party, National Assembly, and Government, we have enough conditions to develop the pharmaceutical industry.

Currently, we have a Pharmaceutical Industry Development Strategy towards 2030 with a vision to 2045, and we also have legal regulations related to drug bidding and support policies for the field of health care and protection for people.

In particular, Resolution 36 of the Politburo in 2023 on developing biotechnology to serve the country's sustainable development are prerequisites for developing the pharmaceutical industry.

The draft also stipulates preferential policies for the development of the pharmaceutical industry related to technology transfer; production of new drugs, original pharmaceutical drugs, high-tech products, vaccines, traditional medicines, cultivation of precious medicinal herbs in Vietnam... so that competent agencies can have specific implementation instructions.

Advertising content must comply with the license

Regarding the pharmacy chain business model, Minister Dao Hong Lan said that this is not a new regulation in this draft Law but has been stipulated in the 2016 Pharmacy Law.

However, the 2016 Law does not have many provisions specifically regulating this type of business. In the revision of the Pharmacy Law, the Drafting Committee wishes to specify the structure, organization, and business conditions; promote the superiority of the pharmacy chain; control the quality of drugs, drug origin, drug prices, and accompanying services, etc.

“Incorporating the opinions of the National Assembly Deputies, the Drafting Committee will continue to review and revise regulations related to the conditions of authority, granting of certificates, responsibilities of pharmacies in the chain…”, Ms. Lan emphasized.

Regarding the method of e-commerce drug business, Minister Dao Hong Lan said that, along with the development of the 4.0 industrial revolution, through the Covid-19 pandemic... business, shopping on the internet, and electronic transactions are becoming more and more popular.

To control the quality of drugs when buying and selling via e-commerce, the draft Law also stipulates: Only establishments that are qualified to do business via traditional methods are allowed to do e-commerce. The draft Law also only allows non-prescription drugs to be traded via e-commerce to ensure quality.

Scene of the discussion session in the hall about the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Pharmacy.

Regarding the rights and responsibilities of foreign-invested businesses, the Minister expressed agreement with many opinions raised by the National Assembly deputies. At the same time, the Minister said that on the one hand, attracting foreign investment enterprises must also ensure drug security in Vietnam.

Therefore, this draft law opens a business step for foreign enterprises to invest in Vietnam. This attracts foreign enterprises to invest in Vietnam as well as Vietnamese enterprises producing domestically.

Regarding advertising confirmation, Minister Lan said that prescription drugs cannot be advertised; non-prescription drugs can be advertised and the content must be consistent with the license granted by the Ministry of Health for that product.

Therefore, we have one more activity which is to confirm the advertising content, which leads to the creation of another administrative procedure. Meanwhile, in Decision No. 1661 of the Prime Minister, this administrative procedure must be reviewed and eliminated. The advertising content must be in accordance with the content issued by the Ministry of Health, ensuring compliance with regulations, not "anything can be posted".

Regarding medical oxygen, Minister Dao Hong Lan said, there are currently two opinions on the management of medical oxygen: One, consider it equipment and propose to include it in the Law on Equipment for development in the coming time; two, consider it a medicine and include it in the Law on Pharmacy.

“We must manage medical oxygen with a doctor's prescription and a certain dosage. We also propose to include the medical oxygen item in the law so that there will be a basis for future guidance. If the National Assembly deputies think that including medical oxygen in the draft law is inappropriate, the National Assembly's conclusion also allows the Government to issue a separate Decree on medical oxygen management to meet practical requirements. We want to ensure transparency in management as well as implementation of medical oxygen tasks,” said Minister Dao Hong Lan.

Explaining the management of wholesale prices throughout the route, Ms. Lan informed that this issue is also regulated in the 2016 Pharmacy Law.

“In recent times, drug prices in Vietnam have been very low compared to the annual CPI and Southeast Asia has assessed that Vietnam has the lowest increase in drug prices. Taking into account the opinions of National Assembly deputies, we will conduct further research and explain or supplement to find a way to achieve price management according to the Law on Prices, avoiding drug price increases,” Minister Dao Hong Lan emphasized .

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/quang-cao-thuoc-khong-phai-muon-dua-noi-dung-gi-len-cung-duoc-a670220.html