A milestone marking a breakthrough in the veterinary vaccination industry
African swine fever is very dangerous, a dangerous disease with a high mortality rate in infected pigs. In Vietnam, African swine fever began to appear from February 2019, and by the end of 2020, the whole country had to destroy nearly 9 million tons of pork, causing a loss of about 30,000 billion VND.
In that context, Dr. Nguyen Van Diep - CEO of AVAC Vietnam recognized the urgency of having a vaccine to protect the pigs from this epidemic as well as protect farmers' assets. In 2022, AVAC Vietnam officially became one of the first two units in Vietnam, as well as globally, to successfully research and produce the AVAC ASF livelihood vaccine. This is a milestone marking a breakthrough for the Vietnamese veterinary vaccination industry as Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Phung Duc Tien once affirmed that this is "the pride of Vietnam".
Dr. Nguyen Van Diep assessed that the African swine fever vaccine is classified as "extremely difficult to produce": "There is not much research data on epidemics. While traditional vaccine production technology, which is used for veterinary vaccines such as green ear and foot-and-mouth disease, has not been successfully applied to African swine fever. To solve this difficult problem, we must master technology".
And Dr. Nguyen Van Diep and his colleagues have found 3 keys to solving this problem: selecting the right virus strain, finding an environment to allow the virus to proliferate stably and building a comprehensive scientific database for commercial vaccine products. After a period of testing and finding its effectiveness, the AVAC ASF livelihood vaccine has been licensed for circulation by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (now the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) since July 2022, with the indication of use to create proactive immunity against diseases for pigs 4 weeks old and above. In 2023, the vaccine will officially be put into commercial circulation, proving its safety and effectiveness in practice.
Many localities have implemented widespread vaccination with free vaccine support from local budgets, including the provinces of Cao Bang, Lang Son, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Tra Vinh. Currently, AVAC is in the process of applying for an official license to use on breeding pigs (including sows and breeding men) to complete a complete vaccine. "We are confident that the vaccine will fully meet the requirements set by the World Health Organization and ensure the safety of breeding pigs," said Dr. Diep.
However, the urgency does not stop at "having vaccines" but in the fact that vaccines must keep up with the ever-changing epidemic. Speaking with Lao Dong, Dr. Nguyen Van Diep said that the emergence of the rec recombined strain, genotype I-II, since 2023, has required continued research on a vaccine that can effectively protect against major strains: "The current AVAC ASF live vaccine helps protect effectively against the strain that causes genotype II. For the new strain, this vaccine can still help lower the outbreak threshold and reduce the probability of outbreaks in the flock, but when the virus dosage is large, the protective effect is reduced. Vaccins are always behind due to the change andolution of microorganisms, so that is the challenge we always face. This is a non-stop war. However, there needs to be a forecast to propose solutions when the epidemic changes, we cannot stand still and watch".
Therefore, right from the initial information about the new strain, AVAC has continued to research a new vaccine suitable for the epidemic trend with the expectation of launching in 2026. Although all expenses are managed by businesses themselves, for Dr. Diep, the things that AVAC is doing not only for the purpose of making a profit but also to protect farmers' livelihoods, ensure food hygiene and safety, and more broadly affirm Vietnam's intelligence in the international arena.
master technology, reaching out to the world
Previously, when the world did not have a separate set of standards for the African swine fever vaccine in the form of living pathogen, AVAC proactively coordinated with domestic management agencies to develop assessment standards and registration roadmaps with the dual goal of both maintaining an epidemic management tool and creating a stable legal framework for long-term commercialization. After that, AVAC continued to send the vaccine to countries for testing, evaluation and received many positive responses.
"With international attention, AVAC has sent the AVAC ASF live vaccine to the World Veterinary Organization's reference laboratory in Canada and Australia for independent testing and assessment. This shows that AVAC is very confident in meeting the most strict international standards for this product, said Dr. Diep.
Regarding the market, Dr. Nguyen Van Diep emphasized that this is not only a vaccine for the domestic market but will be a competitive product of AVAC in the "global game", with the goal of expanding to countries with suitable epidemics, while strengthening Vietnam's intellectual position. As of September 2025, 4.3 million doses of AVAC ASF live vaccine have been launched on the market. Of which, 3.7 million doses were for domestic use, the rest were for export. Up to now, this company has exported
to the Philippines, Indonesia, Nigieria and is registered in India, Malaysia, Nepal, Myanmar... AVAC AFS livelihood vaccine is a great success for the Vietnamese veterinary industry, however, Dr. Diep's biggest concern is that the domestic vaccination rate is still low (under 10%). One of the main reasons is that domestic farmers still do not have much faith in the "Made in Vietnam" vaccine and the vaccine does not have high protection against the outbreak of African swine fever virus. Therefore, the fact that hundreds of thousands of doses of vaccines are exported internationally and recognized by international friends will be the clearest proof to help farmers put more faith in the vaccine.
Regarding long-term aspirations, Dr. Nguyen Van Diep expressed his desire to build AVAC into a global company, gathering talent and proactively developing technology to "disease vaccines faster, protect livestock better", thereby contributing to ensuring economic security, epidemic safety for Vietnam and affirming Vietnamese intelligence on the world veterinary vaccine map.
