Director of the Drug Administration of Vietnam (Ministry of Health) Vu Tuan Cuong said: Vietnam is currently in the top of pharmaceutical markets with the highest annual growth rate in Asia. Specifically for domestic drugs, production value has grown steadily over the years at a growth rate of 12-15%/year. The value of domestically produced drugs accounts for 70% in quantity and nearly 50% in drug use value. Domestic production capacity has covered 13/13 essential drug groups and 11/12 types of vaccines in the Expanded Immunization Program. Vietnam also has 67 companies deploying the export of drugs and drug raw materials with a total value of about 312 million USD.
On that basis, the goal of making Vietnam a high-quality pharmaceutical production center in the region by 2030 is considered to be well-founded.
The Drug Administration of Vietnam (Ministry of Health) also forecasts that the Vietnamese pharmaceutical market may reach a scale of over 10 billion USD by 2026, if it maintains its current growth momentum. However, there is still a large proportion of pharmaceuticals on the market that still have to be imported, including many original brand names, specialized deep-skin drugs and high-tech vaccines. Notably, nearly 90% of raw materials for drug production (API) are still dependent on imports, mainly from China and India, making the domestic pharmaceutical industry vulnerable to geopolitical fluctuations and disruptions to the global supply chain.
Despite efforts to participate more deeply in the global supply chain, Vietnam's pharmaceutical industry in general still has a significant gap compared to developed markets.
Not only stopping at market scale, the Government has identified the pharmaceutical industry as one of the spearhead economic sectors, with a focus on developing high-tech pharmaceuticals, ensuring drug security and improving national competitiveness. This orientation aims to gradually bring Vietnam's pharmaceutical industry closer to the level of advanced countries in the region, towards producing original branded drugs, vaccines, biological products and complex processing forms.
According to the assessment of the World Health Organization (WHO), Vietnam currently reaches above 3 out of 4 levels of pharmaceutical industry development. This shows that Vietnam has been proactive in generic drugs and has export capacity. Currently, domestically produced drugs meet about 46% of market value, mainly essential generic drugs. This is considered an important "launch" for the pharmaceutical industry to shift to higher value-added segments.
In fact, along with clear policy orientations, many domestic pharmaceutical enterprises have proactively upgraded production capacity. According to the Drug Administration of Vietnam (Ministry of Health), to date, Vietnam has 243 factories meeting GMP-WHO standards and 29 establishments owning production lines meeting EU-GMP standards or equivalent. This is proof of the strong transformation of Vietnam's pharmaceutical industry on the path of integration.
However, opportunities always go hand in hand with challenges. Vietnam is forecast to officially enter the population aging phase from 2036. The population aging process puts great pressure on the health system, while increasing demand for groups of drugs to treat chronic and non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, chronic lung disease or mental disorders. These are areas where the domestic pharmaceutical industry needs to play a key role, in order to ensure stable supply, quality equivalent to imported drugs but priced more suitable for people.
To meet that requirement, Vietnam's pharmaceutical industry needs to continue to improve research and development (R&D) capacity, promote clinical trials, apply high technology and artificial intelligence in production and management. At the same time, a transparent, stable legal environment and encouraging long-term investment in R&D are key factors.
Notably, Resolution 68-NQ/TW of the Politburo issued in May 2025 on private economic development has created more motivation for businesses, when allowing to double R&D costs into deductible costs when determining corporate income tax. In addition, the amended Pharmaceutical Law, expected to take effect from July 2025, will prioritize bidding for domestic drugs that meet EU-GMP standards, simplify registration procedures and shorten licensing time for high-quality products.
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