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Vietnam Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Report Q1 2008 Out Now

Posted on: Thursday, 20 March 2008, 00:00 CDT

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c86300) has announced the addition of "Vietnam Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Report Q1 2008" to their offering.

The Vietnam Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report provides independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Vietnams pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry.

Vietnam is challenge to pharmaceutical firms, as evidenced by its lowly position on our completely overhauled Business Environment Rankings for Q108. Negatives include erratic prices, counterfeit drugs and a large rural population. However, improvements are increasing in frequency. Perhaps of most significance is healthcare sector privatisation, which will boost competition and lower costs. The pharmaceutical market has current valuation of US$1.11bn and we forecast double digit growth through to 2012.

During Q407, the author has revised its forecast for Vietnams pharmaceutical import sector after new figures were released by the Health Ministry. Approximately US$777mn worth of medicine will be brought into the country this year, which is much higher than our previous estimate of US$657mn. Usually we would be concerned at this trend - which is frequently at the expense of the domestic industry - but local production is also up and the government is looking to increased foreign direct investment (FDI) by multinationals.

Smoking is a major problem. Between 30,000 and 40,000 people in Vietnam die of smoking-related diseases each year. However, there is distinct gender difference. While some 50% of males smoke, only 3% of females do. As a result, lung disease is on the rise. A recent study found that 5.2% of Vietnamese people over 40 - roughly 4mn individuals - have chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). The country spends VND12bn (US$750,000) a year on COPD treatment and management.

There are approximately 41,500 drugstores in Vietnam, which equates to one outlet per 2,000 people, which is very impressive for a developing country. However, the country has a shortage of trained pharmacists. To rectify this situation, the Ministry of Health has set a target of 1.5 pharmacists per 10,000 people. To put this in perspective, there were 0.8 pharmacists per 10,000 people just two years ago.

An October 2007 study found that limited regulation of pharmacies, lack of market information and inefficient domestic production have caused medicine prices to increase dramatically over the past few years. The report also revealed that the difference in wholesale prices between domestic drugs and those imported by State pharmaceutical companies was 5-8%, while the difference between domestic drugs and those imported privately was 50-300%.

Companies Mentioned:

GlaxoSmithKline

Merck & Co

Novartis

Pfizer

Sanofi-Aventis

Stada Vietnam

Vidipha Central Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company

Vietnam OPV Pharmaceutical Co

Vietnam Pharmaceutical Corporation (Vinapharm)

For more information, visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c86300

Source: Business Wire

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