Vietnam’s pharmaceutical market is expected to have a compound annual growth rate of 15.4% in the next six years to reach a net worth of $8 billion by 2020 compared to the current $3.3 billion. The average drug expense per capita will rise to $40.8 by 2015 from an estimated $27.6 in 2011. The market’s growth is driven by the Vietnamese government’s goal of achieving universal health coverage by 2015 and the increasing life expectancy of local people. However, poor regulatory standards in healthcare could pose a challenge to the growth. Currently, the country is affected by the scarcity of low-priced generic drugs due to the belief of Vietnamese doctors that patent-protected branded drugs are more effective. As a result, foreign drug makers are dominating the market and maintaining a revenue premium. As many as 171 pharmaceutical companies are operating in Vietnam, 9% of which are foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) and 4% are joint ventures. Just 28% of the firms have the GMP certificate, which confirms that a drug maker meet requirements so that their products are of high quality and do not pose any risk to users. (www.vietnam-briefing.com [1] Jun 11)
