Indian generic drugmakers have a huge potential for growth in Vietnam, says Fitch Solutions Country Risk and Industry Research in its latest report. Vietnam’s domestic pharmaceutical industry is currently able to meet just 53 per cent of the country’s demand. And this is an excellent opportunity for Indian drugmakers as it is among the leading global producers of generic medicines.
India is Vietnam’s third largest supplier of pharmaceutical products, with an export turnover of US$198 million in the first nine months of 2020. It also provides raw pharmaceutical materials and generic medicines for the Vietnamese market. Fitch Solutions said the medicines and raw materials imported from India are reasonably priced and meet the diverse needs of Vietnamese.
The report highlights that there is an enormous potential for Vietnam to purchase generic medicines from India. However, the former is actively trying to get Indian pharmaceutical companies to manufacture in Vietnam instead of importing. It said Vietnamese pharmaceutical firms want to cooperate and call for investment from foreign companies, including those from India to attract capital, technology and high quality human resources. The report pointed out the room for cooperation between Vietnamese and Indian businesses in the field.
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It also noted that Vietnam’s generic drug market will post robust growth rates over the coming years, driven by the government’s encouragement of the predominant generic-based local industry, as well as the expansion of healthcare services. Moreover, domestic medicine production will remain firmly within the generic drug sector given the lack of scientific expertise for innovative drug development, but primarily due to the significantly higher demand for generic drugs in the country as a whole.
While the development of healthcare services in Vietnam will increase the ability for patients to access higher quality medicines, affordability levels remain low and as such opportunities for patented drugmakers will remain severely restricted. The report said generic drugs will continue to account for the majority of prescription drug sales with a value estimated at US$2.9 billion in 2020. This would grow to US$6.7 billion by 2030.
