On August 10, 2023, in Ho Chi Minh City – AstraZeneca Vietnam and Hoang Duc Pharmaceutical and Medical Supplies Company signed an Oncology Distribution Partnership Agreement. The event was attended by representatives from the City’s Department of Health, British Consulate General, hospitals, healthcare authorities and the Company’s partners in Ho Chi Minh City.
Le Ngoc Danh (MSc., Pharmacist) Head of Pharmacy Unit, Ho Chi Minh city’s Department of Health, shared at the event that reducing the burden of disease and death from cancer had always been one of the top priorities of the health sector, in which screening, early detection and highly effective treatment with advanced therapies were of great significance. As for Ho Chi Minh city, with the goal of striving to become a healthcare centre of the whole ASEAN region, consist of developing screening and early detection centre. Healthcare sector welcomes the contribution of pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, in new medicine’s research and development which contribute to treatment improvement towards healthcare goals. The cooperation between AstraZeneca Vietnam and Hoang Duc Company today would help Vietnamese patients access early to new medicine like others countries, and bring important benefits to patients and the community.
Nitin Kapoor, Chairman and General Director of AstraZeneca Vietnam, said: “AstraZeneca is proud to accompany Vietnam’s healthcare development in nearly three decades. The agreement signed today is our continued commitment to improving access to medicine for patients, accelerating innovation to transform cancer treatment, as well as building enduring value for Vietnamese patients and society.
Besides advancing patients’ access to innovative medicines, this partnership will also increase the capacity of domestic pharmaceutical distributors, enhance the sustainability of the pharmaceutical supply chain, by that strengthening the comprehensive development of Vietnam’s pharmaceutical industry. Moreover, it aims at contributing to the implementation of the National Strategy for Pharmaceutical Industry Development and the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA).”
Emily Hamblin, British Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, stated: “AstraZeneca’s impressive journey in Vietnam serves as a shining example of the strong partnership between the United Kingdom and Vietnam. The company is renowned not only for its life-changing medicines, but also for its sustainability programmes that aim to enhance the health and well-being of our people and the planet. We were delighted to join forces with AstraZeneca in their “Green energy for health” programme, which focuses on protecting the environment and supporting improved healthcare access for local patients. We are equally committed to supporting AstraZeneca in their future sustainability endeavours and partnering in initiatives that further strengthen the excellent cooperation between the UK and Vietnam. Health system strengthening and tackling climate change are long-standing priorities for the UK government.”
Over the last three decades in Vietnam, with nearly 600 employees nationwide, AstraZeneca has implemented several impactful programs in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and healthcare partners to promote awareness, prevention, and early detection. Amongst them are the Healthy Lung Program to improve the quality of outpatient management for asthma, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), and lung cancer; Young Health Programme to prevent and reduce NCD risk behaviours amongst young people; and CaReMe program to transform the cardiovascular – kidney – metabolic care ecosystem.
AstraZeneca is also collaborating with the World Economic Forum, the London School of Economics, and the Health Strategy and Policy Institute – Vietnam’s Ministry of Health, in Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience (PHSSR), to holistically reinforce the Vietnamese health system so that it can guard against the future risks.
In addition to the Certificate of Merit awarded by the Prime Minister in 2022 for outstanding contributions to Vietnam’s vaccine diplomacy, AstraZeneca Vietnam honourably received the Certificate of Merit from the Minister of Health in 2019 and 2022, for its outstanding contributions in cancer prevention and control, amongst other efforts attributing to the development of Vietnam’s healthcare system./.