The health and industry and trade ministries are to collaborate in the promotion of Viet Nam’s pharmaceutical industry and the stabilisation of the market for its products.

Basis for the effort is a Memorandum of Understanding that Health Minister Nguyen Quoc Trieu and Industry and Trade Ministry Vu Huy Hoang signed in Ha Noi yesterday.

"The two ministries have agreed to co-ordinate activities in drug manufacture, trade and distribution," said Minister Trieu.

"We believe the MoU provides an important step in making pharmaceuticals a key economic and technical industry."

The MoU will have the ministries collaborate in the creation of conditions favourable to the development of the industry.

This will include the promotion of scientific research in the manufacture of pharmaceutical materials and their application.

The ministries will also o-ordinate in the establishment of factories for the development of antibiotics with the focus on Cephalosporin group as suggested by the health ministry.

The MoU provides for the strengthening of inspection, market control and the prevention of smuggling to stabilise pharmaceutical prices.

The industry and trade ministry will ensure that national and international trade-promotion exhibitions will include pharmaceuticals.

It will also seek more foreign investment in pharmaceutical manufacture.

Viet Nam now has 800 domestic and 439 international drug manufacture and trading companies with more than 40,000 retail pharmacies throughout the country.

It also has 171 pharmaceutical factories – 93 foreign invested.

Sixty one domestic pharmaceutical companies meet the Good Manufacturing Practice-World Health Organisation standards and 19 met the GMP-ASEAN standards.

Sixteen do not meet either criteria.

The Viet Nam pharmaceutical industry had revenue of more than US$600 million last year – 12.6 per cent higher than the previous year