VietNamNet Bridge – Developing the chemical industry is necessary if the pharmaceutical industry is to reduce its dependence on imports, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has said.

Last year imports by the pharmaceutical sector were worth US$1.17 billion, including $267 million worth of raw materials. The annual total spending on drugs in Viet Nam is $1.7 billion.

The demand for antibiotics, for instance, is enormous but there is only one company making them in the country – Mekophar, which has a plant with an annual capacity of 400 tonnes.

Only four or five other plants are planned to be built though some are already behind schedule.

Speaking at a meeting with governmental agencies and pharmaceutical companies in Ha Noi on Tuesday, Hai urged the Viet Nam National Chemical Group and Ampharco USA to quickly complete a report on a project titled "Investment and Production of Vaccine Materials".

He also called on official agencies and Mekophar to quickly build a factory to produce raw materials for the antibiotic Cephalexin.

Hai promised that the Government would create favourable conditions for the development of the pharmaceutical industry, especially for the production of vaccines and raw materials for them.

But the industry had stagnated and most drugs and raw materials were being imported, he said.

Industry executives told the meeting the difficulties they faced included capital and the high costs of training and technology transfer, and raw materials.

Until they achieve scale, their prices cannot be as competitive as those of imported medicines.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News