Recently, in the face of market's volatility with the increase in prices of essential commodities, many medicinal companies “swim with the tide”, increase medicine prices. In particular, prices of many medicines increase from 30% to 90%, which has severely affected patients.

Only in the Northern market, 20 companies are reported to increase prices of 240 items with increasing amplitude from 3% to 30%. Medicines which have the most increased prices are mainly antibiotics, vitamins, minerals, painkillers, and specific drugs for cardiovascular and cancer. One of the causes pushing the price up was the increasing exchange rate of USD. However, some medicinal companies have tried to improve their technology and rationalize their production to reduce products’ price, Thien Duoc Co., Ltd among them. We have had an interview with Pharmacist - Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram.

In the situation of escalating raw material prices, what are your company’s plans you’d like to share with patients?

Pharmacist - Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram: In order for patients not to be worried about escalating medicine prices, we have focused on technological improvement to reduce the consumption of raw materials, increase extraction performance of active substances for tumor treatment. For the purpose of limit the fact that patients have to use expensive imported medicines, it is vital to boost domestic medicine production based on systematically scientific research which is proven through practice. Since successfully researching CRILA medicine, CRILIN and Crinum latifolium L. teabag, we often sponsor the medicine for poor patients…


It is known that since the Company's products was launched on the market, their prices have remained stable. Meanwhile, many other medicines always change their prices. Can you tell us how to keep this price while production cost tend to be more and more?

Pharmacist - Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram: Currently, raw material prices are increasing by 30% but ours increase not more than 10% like CRILA capsule for uterine fibroids and BPH, two supplements CRILIN and Crinum latifolium L. teabag supporting the treatment of other tumors such as ovarian and breast cysts. CRILA is manufactured in the Company’s factory under GMP (Good Manufacture Practices), GLP (Good Laboratory Practices), GSP (Good Storage Practices) at No F3, N5 street, Nam Tan Uyen Industrial Zone, Tan Uyen District, Binh Duong Province with registration number V1167-H12-10. CRILA capsule has been studied for 20 years with a closed process, including selection, plant domestication on a stable plantation, study of chemical composition, extraction, toxicity, pharmacology, and formulation. From 2005 until now, the Drug Administration has allowed CRILA for nationwide circulation, but we have still monitored the treatment result of CRILA on domestic and international market in order to ceaselessly improve the product quality. The scientists and my colleagues always try our best in research to reduce product price as a way to share with patients.

As I know, our domestic medicines are currently meeting 40% of social demand; foreign ones take the rest 60%. The medicinal industry is only capable of manufacturing finished products with approximately 400 active substances, which are mainly antibiotics and medicines for common diseases. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam has imported 90% of raw materials for modern medicine production and 85% of raw materials for herbal medicine production. In your opinion, how to increase the rate of domestic medicine on the market?

Pharmacist - Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram: At the conference “Development of herbal materials and national medicinal products”, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan proposed four units (government, farmers, scientists, and manufacturers) to join together. Opinion of Deputy Prime Minister - Nguyen Thien Nhan showed the great concern of our government about Vietnamese medicinal industry’s development, especially valuable medicinal plants to have raw material for herbal medicine production in Vietnam, which stabilizes the price of medicines, take initiative in domestic medicine source, and serve public health.

In my opinion, it’s important to combine four units – the government, farmers, scientists, and manufacturers to promote the development of medicinal materials and create new domestic medicines since our government has guidelines and policies for this. In order to have herbal drugs with stable bioactivity and highly treatment efficacy, it is necessary to receive help and support from the government to have hundreds- or thousands-acre-plantation and as well as financial support from national banks. Besides, only when the government associates with enterprises, scientists and farmers, the development of Vietnamese herbal materials can be promoted, creating domestic medicine source.

Farmers play an important role in directly participating in planting, caring, harvesting medicinal plants. They are the main labor force to produce source of medicinal materials. In addition, scientists involve in researching and developing herbal materials because they are researchers and inventors of new products to society and their very works will promote the development.

Scientists, after studying successfully, transfer technology for enterprises to create new products. Without the application of scientists’ research results, products for society are not created. Therefore, I think that the combination of four units the Government, farmers, scientists, and manufacturers is vital for the development of Vietnamese social economy and medicinal industry.

Medicines, especially therapeutic medicines for incurable disease in Vietnam must depend entirely on foreign medicines while our country has an abundant source of medicinal materials. Why don’t we take initiative in medicinal material sources?

Pharmacist - Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram – With regard to this issue, we need recognize and learn from India, which can provide for themselves 70% of medicines from medicinal herbs and now India has a very large number of medicines exported to international market. India has realized the issue of self-help medicines for over 50 years. At present, our country has 3,850 species of medicinal plants, 403 species of medicinal animals and nearly 50% of 11,000 types of holothurian and sea creatures having medicinal effects. With such a rich and diverse source of medicinal materials, herbal medicine production should have been developed in accordance with its potential. However, entire Vietnam just has nearly 300 facilities producing medicines derived from herbal plants, most of which operate at small and fragmented scale.

When taking initiative in source of medicinal materials, we will create new products from highly quality clean raw materials. Newly-born Vietnamese medicinal products will stabilize escalating medicine price. The most significant thing is to bring all Vietnamese-branded specific drugs to international market with low price and high quality, serving to low-income patients in Vietnam and around the world, making Vietnam be honored

Thank you so much!