The Hanoi Times - Viet Nam’s first o­nline medicine transaction floor will be open late this month at the web address .

The floor, built by the Viet Nam Pharmaceutical Companies Association (VPCA) is a new platform for both domestic and foreign-funded businesses, special-ising in the production and trading of drugs, medical equipment, technologies and services.

VPCA chairman Do Van Doanh said that the floor was expected to stimulate domestic consumption and improve the public awareness of made-in-Viet Nam drugs and medical trademarks.

It was also a gateway for domestic enterprises and foreign partners to expand co-operation, Doanh said. With a population of more than 80 million, experts said that potential growth in the Vietnamese pharmaceutical industry was high. The industry expected to sell between US$12 and 15 worth of drugs per capita by 2010.

Domestic shortfall

According to VPCA statistics, around 1,000 pharmaceutical enterprises, 30 per cent of which are foreign-funded, are operating in Viet Nam.

However, Viet Nam’s production capacity currently meets o­nly 50 per cent of domestic drug demand.

The pharmaceutical sector has set targets to meet between 60 per cent and 70 per cent of local demand in 2010 and 2015, respectively. To enlarge market share, pharmaceutical authorities have recommended the industry produce spec-ialised medicine for the treatment of pneumonia, heart disease, rheumatism and diabetes.

Bui Quoc Trung, deputy head of the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency, said domestic pharmaceutical companies were currently working with foreign companies to learn about new technologies and enlarge distribution networks.

The cost of many kinds of imported medicine has surged in the past months and is forecast to continue rising until the end of the year, according to the VPCA.

The VPCA reported that the price of roughly 21 kinds of imported medicine had so far risen by roughly 4.8 per cent o­n average.

Industry insiders attributed the price hike to the increase in value of the US dollar against the dong.

In order to stabilise the medicine market towards the end of the year, the Ministry of Health late last month said that it would enforce strict penalties o­n those who speculate o­n medicines or spread rumours of shortages in order to push up prices.

The ministry also required city and provincial health departments nationwide to increase inspections of drugstores to prevent tricks leading to such practices.