Leading pharmaceutical companies like Imexpharm are well-positioned for breakthroughs in the high-tech pharmaceutical market due to advanced technology, an established market presence, diversified product portfolios, and strong financial resources.

Unlocking future growth potential, prioritizing R&D efforts

At the 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, Imexpharm Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (IMP) announced that it had spent five percent of its net revenue on R&D activities during the past time.

IMP is accelerating its investment strategy, anticipating high-value medicinal products in response to the increasing demand of domestic and foreign markets.

This investment is a necessary step for Vietnam to turn into a regional pharmaceutical and medical hub.

According to the Ministry of Health, Vietnam's pharmaceutical industry aims to meet 80 percent of domestic demand and capture 70 percent of the market value by 2030.

To achieve this, Vietnam is focusing on promoting the transfer of technology for production and processing of at least 100 original brand name drugs, vaccines, biological products, and rare drugs that are currently not produced domestically.

Groundwork for state-of-the-art pharmaceutical production facility with cutting-edge technologies

Many pharmaceutical enterprises in Vietnam, like IMP, DHG, and Domesco, have cooperated with foreign investors to strengthen their financial standing, improve management practices, and gain access to advanced production technologies.

Currently, 228 factories in Vietnam meet GMP standards, including seven vaccine factories, six secondary vaccine packaging facilities, and 77 pharmaceutical plants.

Companies that invest in and adjust their production lines to meet EU or Japanese standards have significant growth opportunities, according to Nguyen The Minh, director of analysis at Yuanta Vietnam Securities Company.

Imexpharm, Vietnam’s leading antibiotic producer, boasts 11 production lines across three factory clusters, namely IMP2, IMP3, and IMP4.

These facilities, adhering to stringent EU-GMP standards, solidify IMP’s dominance in the local market.

IMP4 is now operational and EU-GMP compliant, having already generated VND80 billion (US$3.1 million) in sales within its first five months of inception, while the construction of the IMP5 factory is currently underway.

With these developments, IMP is confident that it will continue to bring in high profit margins in the coming years.

People’s Doctor and Pharmacist Tran Thi Dao, IMP’s general director, outlined ambitious targets: 24-percent growth in gross revenue, 19-percent growth in net revenue, a pre-tax profit increase of approximately 12 percent, and an 18-percent rise in EBITDA.

IMP will also continue expanding its raw material supplier base and developing competitive pricing strategies to capture market share in the ETC market and maintain momentum in the OTC channel.

"Building on our 2023 success with a good profit of about 40.6 percent, we aim to maintain a handsome profit margin of about 40-41% in 2024,” said IMP’s CFO Nguyen An Duy.

Offering opportunities to access brand name drugs at reasonable prices

As Vietnam’s population has been aging since 2017, Vietnamese people are elevating their spending on healthcare.

To meet the evolving needs, the pharmaceutical industry must prioritize research and production of specialized drugs, rare drugs, and innovative drugs.

According to the Drug Administration of Vietnam, the country spends billions of dollars annually importing drugs, with domestic production only meeting 45 percent of the demand.

This necessitates Vietnamese companies’ ability to compete on both price and product quality.

IMP leads the market on the ETC channel with sales 1.8 times higher than other businesses in the same industry.

The firm’s products have replaced imported drugs in many hospitals in Vietnam, helping to increase competitiveness in the domestic market and creating barriers to foreign pharmaceutical companies.

In 2023, IMP demonstrated outstanding growth in the OTC channel, with OTC sales contributing 51 percent to the total revenue.

Recently, IMP has partnered with Genuone Sciences Inc., a Korean pharmaceutical company, to focus on registering, manufacturing, and distributing drugs in Vietnam, alongside valuable technology transfer from Genuone to IMP. 

“IMP invests five percent of its revenue in R&D activities,” said Chaerhan Chun, board chairman of IMP.

“In 2023, IMP’s commitment to R&D was evident with 91 projects, 15 of which have already been successfully launched in the market.

“This focus on innovation translates to a competitive advantage for IMP with new pharmaceutical products.

“Many domestically produced medicines are now accessible to consumers, replacing previously imported options.

“This increased variety in the pharmaceutical market fosters competition among domestic businesses, driving improvement in both product quality and affordability for consumers.”