Pharmaceuticals Distribution In Chaos?

If you a pharmaceutical related company that wish to invest in Vietnam,do take note of what have been reported in Viet Nam News ( 27/09/06):

• “ The distribution of pharmaceuticals in Viet Nam is overly complex and has too many wholesalers acting as middlemen,Medicines were sold through a myriad of agents and around 18,000 State and privately operated pharmacies. All of these producers,distributors,wholesalers ,agents,and pharmacies were able to provide pharmaceuticals to hospitals,creating chaos in drug prices;
• Hospitals also tended to defer payments,putting even more upward pressure on prices;
• The Government was not in a position to control the situation,and consumers were left to bear the burden and
• Viet Nam lacked clear regulations on drug distributors,prices and profits,. The Government would need to regulate the drug market while allowing market forces to determine prices.”

Good new is that:
Pharmaceutical Management Department director Cao Minh Quang said that his department was already preparing a circular to guide implementation of the Law on Pharmaceuticals under which distributors would have to post prices on 12,000 articles,firstly in three groups:drugs in reserve,essential drugs and primary drugs used in hospitals.
A recent survey conducted by the Viet Nam Pharmaceuticals Industry Association indicated that domestic drug prices were fairly stable,but that imported drug prices had been climbing at a rate of about 2 per cent per year.
France,India and China were leading sources of imported pharmaceuticals.

• Vietnam-Real Estate News