UK Pharmaceutical Supplier to Vietnam

Vietnam's pharmaceutical market is one of the fastest-growing markets in Southeast Asia. The country's 100-million-plus population, rising middle class, and expanding health insurance coverage under Vietnam Social Security (VSS) are driving demand for higher-quality imported medicines, particularly in oncology, cardiology, and rare disease therapy.

The Vietnamese government's Pharma Strategy 2030, approved under Decision 376/QD-TTg, aims to develop the domestic pharmaceutical industry to 2030. However, for specialist medicines not manufactured domestically, particularly targeted cancer therapies and orphan drugs, Vietnam remains dependent on imports from established pharmaceutical markets including the UK, EU, and Japan.

Vietnam operates a dual-track regulatory system for medicine imports. Registered medicines go through the Drug Administration of Vietnam (DAV) marketing authorisation process, the length of which varies by product and should be confirmed with DAV. For medicines not yet registered in Vietnam needed urgently, the buyer's import route allows hospitals to apply for individual import permission, and buyers should confirm the current rules with DAV. This is the primary channel through which UK-licensed medicines reach Vietnamese healthcare institutions.

Key therapeutic areas driving import demand from Vietnam include oncology (Vietnam has one of the highest cancer incidence rates in Southeast Asia, with approximately 182,000 new cases annually), hepatology (Vietnam has among the world's highest hepatitis B prevalence rates at approximately 8 percent of the population), and neurology. The country's National Cancer Control Programme and expanded NCD screening are further increasing demand for imported specialty medicines.