Many businesses invest in the development of clean pharmaceutical resources

	Great expectations for Vietnam’s pharma firms
	Pharmaceutical tenders in 2018: Breaking the price point for brand-name drugs
	70 new procedures of Ministry of Health will be connected to Single Window

Atiso is being invested in Sa Pa. Photo: Duong Ngan.

Many development projects

Vietnam has abundant and diversified medicinal resources. The number of medicinal plants is expected to reach more than 6,000 species. But the sources are increasingly exhausted due to overexploitation and lack of conservation. Meanwhile, the cultivation and exploitation of pharmaceuticals in Vietnam is now spontaneous, on a small scale, without oriented development, resulting in unstable pharmaceutical production and price fluctuations. Therefore, the sources of herbs in Vietnam only meet about 10-20% of demand, and the remaining resources are imported, mainly from China.

In order to overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings, to form clean and quality pharmaceutical plantations, according to a representative of TH Group, it has been researching and successfully processing 100% Vietnamese pharmaceutical materials from baby jackfruit to peanuts in Nghia Dan and Yen Thanh (Nghe An). To date, these fields have achieved organic certification according to US and European standards. TH Group has successfully established a complete value chain, from the cultivation to the final product. Currently many products extracted from herbs have been exported to many countries, including fastidious markets such as the US and Russia.

With Traphaco Sapa, according to Mr. Le Quan, the Deputy Manager, his company is developing clean medicinal herbs in Sa Pa (Lao Cai). For sustainable development, the company has provided free plants, hand-held farming techniques, loans to buy fertilizer, installed irrigation water system and signed contracts for output. In 2001, only a few farmers cultivated 3-5 hectares with a few hundred pounds of leaves.Up to now, the area has planted up to 50 hectares and yielded 2,000 tons of leavesa year. Actiso planted according to the GACP (Good Planting and Harvesting Practices) has been developed in Sa Pa, Ta Phin and Sa Pa, with 90% of the orchards being in the Mong ethnic minority region.

According to Mr. Quan, the linkage model developed by Traphaco Sapa in Lao Cai has helped ethnic minority households increase their income by 3-5 times compared to traditional farming. The local people instead of spontaneous cultivation, now have a stable life and an increasing income.

According to Ms. Hoang Thi Thu Huong, a coordinator of BioTrade project, the project is carrying out medicinal plant growing in Thanh Loi commune, Vu Ban district, Nam Dinh province in order to create a safe source of raw materials for producing cough and flu syrup. The goal is to develop 50 pharmaceutical value chains, according to clean standards, safe production, such as GACP-WHO or Organic, and then apply to BioTrade standards which are high standards. This requires both a commitment to sustainability and a corporate social responsibility. "The project has researched many areas for the upcoming construction of clean medicinal areas, to help Vietnamese pharmaceutical companies have a stable source of raw materials and preserve the medicinal plants in Vietnam, especially precious genetic resources through cultivation and sustainable harvesting", Ms. Huong said.

On visiting the Bio Trade plantation project, through observation, the Customs News' reporter noticed that the farming care and harvest methods were monitored closely. The plants in this medicinal area are not beautiful in design, but are safe because they do not use growth stimulants or pesticides, but are used with organic fertilizers made from soybean meal. Accordingly, the plants grow well, which does not affect the health of growers and users.

Actively cooperate with enterprises

In order to develop clean pharmaceuticals, enterprises must gradually affirm the brand name. Mr. Phan Van Hieu, Chairman of the CVI Cosmetics Company said that scientists, trade promotion agencies should seek opportunities to access new technologies, new varieties to cultivate domesticated plants in Vietnam, and research must be linked to practical and specific strategies. Accordingly, they should actively cooperate with enterprises in deploying research projects into production practices. At the same time, actively cooperate with people to preserve and develop biological resources for drug production.

Prevent "sheltering" behavior in drug distribution VCN - The issue of FDI pharmaceutical companies that have a right to import but not to ...

According to Ms. Vu Thi Thuan, the Chairman of the Board of Traphaco Joint Stock Company, in order to develop drugs in a systematic and sustainable way, there is a need for political determination of the Government, relevant agencies and departments. All resources should be mobilized to invest in the development of materials, in which the capital of enterprises, should be invested in the development of planted areas, preliminary processing and processing of pharmaceutical materials. In particular, the State budget capital shall be invested in researching and improving the process and technique of seed production and cultivation, research and development of hi-tech products.