The new tie-ups have the potential to improve the health of millions of Vietnamese people

In particular, the strategic partnership between GSK Vietnam and Phytopharma is expected to help solve challenges in pharmaceutical supply, especially in response to the severe pandemic impacts.

According to the World Economic Forum, several national lockdowns around the world continue to slow or even halt the flow of raw materials and finished goods, delaying manufacturing. This is due to severe disruptions in the supply chain and market volatility.

The supply chain, especially that of the medical industry, is inherently a fragile business. Besides causing a crisis for both businesses and consumers, shortages also impede pharmaceutical progress. Therefore, service providers must secure their supply and control distribution for a growing market like Vietnam.

In times of shortages, collaborative programmes play a strategic role to ensure a continuous supply. For one, international leading pharma groups like GSK can work with Phytopharma to establish a reliable supply of medicines to protect more Vietnamese patients. Once maintained, the collaboration can expand healthcare coverage to larger Vietnamese patients, by enabling them to easily access innovative medicines.

Nguyen Cong Chien, president of Phytopharma, reaffirmed the long-term cooperation with GSK Vietnam and committed to continuing investing and upgrading the infrastructure that meets international standards.

“With shared goals in mind, we’ve laid out sustainable strategies to both ensure pharmaceutical supply and quality services to be delivered,” Chien said. “Since GSK is already a global name, we can exchange knowledge on international quality assurance to deliver the best quality medicines to Vietnamese patients. Phytopharma is proud to be this trusted partner, and we’ll do our best to shape the future of standard healthcare services for the wider Vietnamese population.”

GSK Vietnam is investing $200 million to set up the new legal entity. According to Luis Arosemena, senior vice president of GSK Emerging Markets, besides the Phytopharma tie-up, GSK aims to introduce new innovative vaccines and medicines, strengthen the exchange of scientific knowledge, improve continuous medical education, and raise disease awareness among the public.

“This is an important milestone in the continued development of GSK in Vietnam, one of the top focus markets in the region. We look forward to working with the healthcare sector and strategic partners for sustainable healthcare in Vietnam. GSK is also one of the most diverse and inclusive workplaces where we recruit and inspire outstanding Vietnamese talent, supporting them to grow and succeed together.”

GSK aims to protect six out of 10 newborn babies from life-threatening vaccine-preventable diseases and hundreds of thousands of adults and groups with underlining conditions through vaccination. It also wants to supply medicines for millions of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients and make available effective and quality antibiotics for tens of millions of community-acquired respiratory infection patients.

With this establishment, it is hoped that Vietnamese people can access quality healthcare products based on GSK’s rigorous and groundbreaking pharmaceutical research, and thus encourage more quality pharmaceutical services in the country, further solidifying the industry supply chain.

British science-led healthcare company GSK launched its new legal entity in Vietnam on May 11. Called GSK Pharma Vietnam Co., Ltd., it is pouring $200 million in the country to establish itself and work on disease prevention and treatment for Vietnamese people.