FDAnews
www.fdanews.com/articles/69992-drug-price-controls-to-tighten-in-vietnam

Drug Price Controls to Tighten in Vietnam

March 18, 2005

Vietnamese authorities have launched a series of measures in recent months to restrain rising drug prices. A law under debate in the country's legislature calls for the government to ensure that domestic drug prices are no higher than in other countries in the region, as well as the creation of a Drug Council to coordinate policy with other state agencies and businesses. The measures are expected to be approved in mid-April.

Meanwhile, government statements indicate that health authorities will "severely punish" drug dispensers and pharmacists raising prices on drugs without prior official permission. The government insists that measures taken since mid-2004 to impose controls on the drug market have stabilised prices, but selling prices on some antibiotics and other basic products are reported to have risen by up to 50% since the start of the year. In February, the government set a deadline for drug traders to submit detailed pricing plans for official approval, apparently in return for speedier drug approvals and greater control over local "generics" production. Meanwhile, leading pharmaceuticals makers continue to criticise inadequate sector regulation, with unclear competition policy and wide-scale copying placing a brake on industry development.