Saigon Medi-Pharm Expo 2010: The Latest Medical Technology Showcase

The most important showcase event in the domestic medical and pharmaceutical industry, Saigon Medi-Pharm Expo 2010, took place in Ho Chi Minh City in late August 2010. The event attracted more than 100 companies from 20 countries and territories and around 12,000 specialized visitors, indicating the huge demand for learning leading-edge technologies by local pharmaceutical businesses.

The local pharmaceutical industry has been developing vigorously in the past two decades. Statistics show that the country is home to more than 100 GMP-WTO standard drug production businesses growing an average 18 percent annually. Significantly, some businesses have succeeded in penetrating foreign markets.

However, most of these businesses are small and medium in size employing less-than-modern production techniques while the associated support industry is almost non-existent. Besides low comparative advantages and technological level, and chronic capital shortages local pharmaceutical businesses have to cope with removal of drug production from developed nations to Asian developing countries with an abundance of pharmaceutical items made in other Asian countries such as India, China and the Republic of Korea in the domestic market.

Former Deputy Minister of Health, senior pharmacist, Le Van Truyen, said local pharmaceutical industry was in a low level of development and Vietnam was yet to have specialized pharmaceutical material and packaging production industries. Many pharmaceutical companies use backward technologies.

Therefore, to enhance its position and competitiveness pharmaceutical companies need to turn out quality products and diversify the product range. Technological innovations are then essential to achieve these goals. Businesses must build more factories, testing laboratories and hi-tech research departments, inject more capital into research and development of new items and essential materials (antibiotics, chemicals and pharmaceutical materials) that are strongly demanded. Pumping capital into pharmaceutical packaging production (paper and plastic packaging, glass tubes, etc.) is also a must.

Local drug and medical equipment manufacturers actively took part in Saigon Medi-Pharm Expo 2010 and made up nearly half of the exhibitors. Leading names in the industry like Domesco, the Hau Giang Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company 3/2 and Roussel Vietnam Company also joined the event.

At the exhibition’s opening ceremony Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien said the event was a good chance for Vietnamese producers and traders in the medical and pharmaceutical industry to meet foreign counterparts for sharing experiences as well as expanding cooperative relations.

Saigon Medi-Pharm Expo 2010 brought together more than 100 businesses from 20 countries and territories around the world such as the US, Germany, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Australia, Hungary, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong (China), Chinese Taipei, China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Israel.

The event showcased the latest machinery and equipment in the pharmaceutical industry, fresh lab technologies, biotechnology and medical equipment like surgical and dental equipment. A lot of foreign exhibitors joining the event for the first time brought on display cutting-edge medical and pharmaceutical technologies. They were Elektronika (Hungary), Mitsubishi Chemical Medience Corp (Japan), Ameritek (the US), Alphalab (New Zealand), Headstart Ecology (Hong Kong).

Saigon Medi-Pharm Expo is an annual promotion event in the medical-pharmaceutical industry and Saigon Medi-Pharm Expo 2010 was the tenth of its kind

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