India drug firms seek to further tap local market

Representatives of Indian and Vietnamese pharmaceutical companies seek to build business links during the Vietnam-India Business Meeting in Pharmaceutical Industry in HCMC on Thursday - Photo: Tuong Vi

HCMC – The fact that 12 Indian pharmaceutical companies are visiting Vietnam shows they are keen on the potential of the fast-growing local market.

The businesses that began their five-day Vietnam trip on Wednesday are active in fields such as specific drugs, herbs, functional foods, and cosmetics.

India emerged as the largest pharmaceutical exporter to Vietnam last year, with total revenue amounting to US$193 million, Abhay Thakur, consul general of India in HCMC, said at the Vietnam-India Business Meeting in Pharmaceutical Industry in the city on Thursday.

Vietnam’s pharmaceutical industry has expanded 12% a year on average in 2008-2010. In 2008, domestic drug production value reached US$715 million, and the figure rose to US$858 million last year and is forecast to surge to US$1.2 billion this year.

Vietnam exported US$39.96 million worth of medicines and pharmaceutical material last year, up 20% year-on-year. According to a report by Vietnam’s pharmaceutical authorities, the industry has grown slower and has not created new products and only 52% of the pharmaceutical companies meet Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards.

“Most locally made drugs are of ordinary type and they don’t have high value. They just meet half the domestic demand,” said Nguyen The Hung, deputy director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s HCMC branch.

The industry, he noted, imports 90% of material for local drug production, mainly from India and China.

The country has huge demand for pharmaceutical products imports. Last year saw medicine imports top nearly US$1.2 billion, up 27% year-on-year. Spending on pharmaceutical products was US$6 per person in 2001 but surged to US$16.45 in 2008, and it may reach US$25 by 2015.

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Visiting Indian pharmaceutical firms seek local partners

Seventeen Indian pharmaceutical enterprises on Oct. 14 met with HCM
City partners during a trade-exchange programme to seek more
opportunities in the field.

The companies produce a wide range of pharmaceutical goods, including health food and veterinary medicine.

Pharmaceuticals are one of the major products that India exports to Vietnam .

Two-way trade between the two countries was more than 2 billion USD in 2009, with an annual growth of 20 percent.

From 2008-10, the Vietnamese pharmaceutical industry increased turnover by 12 percent annually.

Last year, the industry sold around 700 million USD of drugs on the
local market. The rest, which amounted to 50 percent of sales, was
imported medicine.

Vietnam also exported 40 million USD worth of drugs last year, an increase of 20 percent compared to 2008.

However, the local pharmaceutical industry is expected to continue to
produce only basic medicines, and will not manufacture specialised drugs
for heart or cancer diseases.

Most of the raw materials are imported from China (25 percent) and India (21 percent).

Last year, Vietnam spent 1.17 billion USD on imported medicines.

Demand for medicine per capita increased from 6 USD in 2001 to 16.5 USD in 2008, and is expected to reach to 25 USD in 2015./.

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Drug material import to double in five years

HCMC – Vietnam will see its demand for pharmaceutical material imports to double within the next five years to some US$1 billion a year as local production is still undeveloped, the National Agency for Science and Technology Information said.

Phung Minh Lai, deputy director of the sci-tech information agency, told reporters at a press briefing over the weekend that “the cost for imported materials for medicine production will expectedly rise to US$1 billion a year from 2015.”

Lai, whose agency held the press briefing to call attention to an exhibition named Analytica Vietnam 2011 for technologies, analysis, biotechnology and diagnostics, said Vietnam last year spent US$480 million on imported drug materials out of the total US$1.5 billion of medicine import value.

Though Vietnam has set a target of achieving an annual growth in the drug-related chemical industry by 15%, its pharmaceutical chemistry is still undeveloped compared to the increasing demand for chemical products, the agency said.

The pharmaceutical chemistry sector is just able to produce some simple substances and limited types of products on simple technologies, according to the agency, which said the country would need to build six pharmaceutical chemistry plants by 2015.

Analytica Vietnam 2011 will be held in HCMC on April 7-9 next year by Munich Exhibition Company in collaboration with the National Agency for Science and Technology Information.  

Lai said that the exhibition would be a good opportunity for both local and international partners to exchange information in the field of technologies, analysis, biotechnology and diagnostics. This is the second Analytica Vietnam exhibition to be held in Vietnam after the first one in Hanoi last year, which attracted some 75 companies from 11 nations worldwide.

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India urged to invest in drugs companies

Many parents give their children too large or frequent doses of non-prescription medicines for fever, coughs and colds, putting their health at risk

Photo: AFP

Deputy Minister of Health Cao Minh Quang has encouraged Indian-owned pharmaceutical enterprises to pour more investment in the local pharmaceutical industry.

During on Monday's seminar on prospects of the industry, Quang said he had told the Indian Business Chamber in Vietnam (INCHAM) that Indian companies had provided drugs of high quality, safety and efficacy at reasonable prices in Vietnam .

"The Ministry of Health recognises the efforts made by foreign investors in the development of the pharmaceutical sector and will try its best to create a favourable and equitable business environment for INCHAM members who invest in Vietnam ," Quang said.

The ministry is committed to continue increasing transparency and accountability, and will reform administrative procedures to smooth the way forward for enterprises, according to Quang.

The ministry's goal is to develop the pharmaceutical sector on many levels, including investment, integration with the world market, and creation of new policies and laws governing the industry.

According to the ministry, 128 Indian enterprises among 545 foreign similar enterprises have been licensed to work in the pharmaceutical industry, accounting for 23.5 percent, the highest ranking.

The number of valid registrations granted to Indian drugs is 4507, accounting for 37.8 percent, the highest level. Drugs from the Republic of Korea rank second, 19.23 percent.

India is an emerging pharmaceutical market in the Asia-Pacific region with an impressive growth rate of 13 percent per year.

At US$193 million in export turnover to Vietnam , India , the world's third-largest producer of pharmaceuticals, was the largest pharmaceutical exporter to Vietnam in 2009.

Abhay Thakur, consul general of India in HCMC said India 's industry had average annual exports of $8.5 billion.

The $21 billion Indian pharma industry was small in comparison to the global market, he added.

"Vietnam can increasingly look towards India as a source for affordable medicines and to solve concerns about increasing healthcare costs," he said.

 

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Official calls on Indian drug firms to invest in Vietnam

Cao Minh Quang (R ), deputy minister of health, chats with Indian businessmen at a tea break during the seminar on Vietnam’s pharmaceutical industry - Photo: Dao Loan

HCMC – A deputy health minister on Monday called on Indian pharmaceutical firms to invest in manufacturing in Vietnam rather than largely confining their business to drug trading only.

Deputy Minister of Health Cao Minh Quang told a seminar held in HCMC that India was most active in the Vietnamese pharmaceutical market with up to 128 firms having gained licenses to do business here.

Furthermore, the number of valid circulation visas given to Indian drugs also accounts for the largest number with over 4,500 products, or 37.8% of the total number of foreign drugs, far higher than the second position held by South Korea with over 19%.

“Indian firms have played a big part in Vietnam’s pharmaceutical market,” Quang told the seminar “Existing and Future Prospects in Vietnam’s Pharmaceutical Industry” organized by the Indian Business Chamber in Vietnam.

But the deputy minister noted that Indian drug firms engaged in trading only while ignoring the manufacturing segment in Vietnam. He urged Indian firms to take a bolder approach to expand their business activities in Vietnam.

“Only one Indian company has set up a manufacturing plant in Vietnam, but now the plant, named Ranbaxy, has already been acquired by ICA and thus it is no longer a foreign direct investment enterprise,” Quang said.

Quang said the local industry still had opportunities for investors to grasp regarding production of raw materials and hi-tech pharmaceutical products, which is the strength of Indian enterprises.

Vietnam’s pharmaceutical industry is in need of investment, including in medication packaging materials, equipments, herbal medicines, and other related services, according to Quang.

“That’s an opportunity. Let us think about this. We will give very good conditions to those companies wanting to invest in the production of hi-tech pharmaceutical products. It’s a priority investment sector,” he said.

Indian entrepreneurs at the seminar said they were interested not only in selling drugs but also in other business segments like infrastructure for the industry. The Ministry of Health should work closer with the Ministry of Planning and Investment to bring out better policies to help the investors develop their projects in the country, said a participant.

“Indian enterprises can invest in infrastructure, technology transfer for manufacturing advanced drugs, collaboration for the manufacturing of vaccines and bio-products, and others,” said Kailash Patki, country manager of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd.

According to Abhay Thakur, Indian consul general in HCMC, Indian pharmaceutical export to Vietnam last year amounted to US$193 million.

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India urged to invest in drugs companies

Deputy Minister of Health Cao Minh Quang has encouraged Indian-owned
pharmaceutical enterprises to pour more investment in the local
pharmaceutical industry.

During on Sept. 6's seminar
on prospects of the industry, Quang said he had told the Indian
Business Chamber in Vietnam (INCHAM) that Indian companies had provided
drugs of high quality, safety and efficacy at reasonable prices in
Vietnam .

"The Ministry of Health recognises the
efforts made by foreign investors in the development of the
pharmaceutical sector and will try its best to create a favourable and
equitable business environment for INCHAM members who invest in
Vietnam ," Quang said.

The ministry is committed to
continue increasing transparency and accountability, and will reform
administrative procedures to smooth the way forward for enterprises,
according to Quang.

The ministry's goal is to
develop the pharmaceutical sector on many levels, including investment,
integration with the world market, and creation of new policies and laws
governing the industry.

According to the ministry,
128 Indian enterprises among 545 foreign similar enterprises have been
licensed to work in the pharmaceutical industry, accounting for 23.5
percent, the highest ranking.

The number of valid
registrations granted to Indian drugs is 4507, accounting for 37.8
percent, the highest level. Drugs from the Republic of Korea rank
second, 19.23 percent.

India is an emerging
pharmaceutical market in the Asia-Pacific region with an impressive
growth rate of 13 percent per year.

At 193 million
USD in export turnover to Vietnam , India , the world's third-largest
producer of pharmaceuticals, was the largest pharmaceutical exporter to
Vietnam in 2009.

Abhay Thakur, consul general of
India in HCM City , said India 's industry had average annual
exports of 8.5 billion USD.

The 21 billion USD Indian pharma industry was small in comparison to the global market, he added.

" Vietnam can increasingly look towards India as a source for
affordable medicines and to solve concerns about increasing healthcare
costs," he said./.

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India urged to invest in drugs companies

HCM CITY — Deputy Minister of Health Cao Minh Quang has encouraged Indian-owned pharmaceutical enterprises to pour more investment in the local pharmaceutical industry.

During yesterday's seminar on prospects of the industry, Quang said he had told the Indian Business Chamber in Viet Nam (INCHAM) that Indian companies had provided drugs of high quality, safety and efficacy at reasonable prices in Viet Nam.

"The Ministry of Health recognises the efforts made by foreign investors in the development of the pharmaceutical sector and will try its best to create a favourable and equitable business environment for INCHAM members who invest in Viet Nam," Quang said.

The ministry is committed to continue increasing transparency and accountability, and will reform administrative procedures to smooth the way forward for enterprises, according to Quang.

The ministry's goal is to develop the pharmaceutical sector on many levels, including investment, integration with the world market, and creation of new policies and laws governing the industry.

According to the ministry, 128 Indian enterprises among 545 foreign similar enterprises have been licensed to work in the pharmaceutical industry, accounting for 23.5 per cent, the highest ranking.

The number of valid registrations granted to Indian drugs is 4507, accounting for 37.8 per cent, the highest level. Korean drugs (19.23 per cent) rank second.

India is an emerging pharmaceutical market in the Asia-Pacific region with an impressive growth rate of 13 per cent per year.

At US$193 million in export turnover to Viet Nam, India, the world's third-largest producer of pharmaceuticals, was the largest pharmaceutical exporter to Viet Nam in 2009.

Abhay Thakur, consul general of India in HCM City, said India's industry had average annual exports of $8.5 billion.

The $21 billion Indian pharma industry was small in comparison to the global market, he added.

"Viet Nam can increasingly look towards India as a source for affordable medicines and to solve concerns about increasing healthcare costs," he said. — VNS

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