Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh pushes for landmark deal with AstraZeneca on vaccines and drugs

According to signed documents, AstraZeneca and Vietnamese partners have reached two landmark agreements to contribute to the development of the domestic biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry and support Vietnam's efforts to prevent and combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Accordingly, AstraZeneca will invest about VND2 trillion (US$90 million) to support Vietnam in improving its domestic pharmaceutical production capacity, helping patients have better access to high-quality drugs produced right in Vietnam. It is expected that in the period 2022-2030, there will be 3 important drug products manufactured domestically by the Company.

Under the guidance of the Ministry of Health, AstraZeneca will select a partner in Vietnam to transfer production technology and provide necessary expertise and technical processes to ensure that AstraZeneca's non-communicable disease treatment products produced domestically will be of high quality, meeting the group's global standards.

The announcement of this new investment follows AstraZeneca's VND5 trillion ($220 million) investment in Vietnam for the 2020-2024 period announced in 2019.

In addition, AstraZeneca and Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company (VNVC) signed an agreement to supply additional quantities of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine and AstraZeneca's monoclonal antibody mixture with an effect lasting up to 12 months, called AZD7442.

If approved by the Ministry of Health for emergency use, this antibody therapy has the potential to both prevent and treat COVID-19, and Vietnam will be one of the first countries to access this product. AD7442 is designed for people with weakened immune systems or whose bodies do not respond adequately to vaccines.

Currently, in vulnerable populations such as those with immunodeficiencies or those living and working in environments with a high risk of COVID-19 infection, the body often does not produce enough immunity to protect them from the risk of infection, even after being vaccinated against COVID-19. If approved, the long-acting monoclonal antibody cocktail AZD7442 will combine with the vaccine to provide additional protection for these high-risk populations, as well as support the treatment of COVID-19 patients, helping them fight the virus.

Contribute to Vietnam's healthcare capacity building strategy

Speaking at a working session with leaders of AstraZeneca, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed his high appreciation for the position, role and importance of AZ in preventing the COVID-19 pandemic, a global issue; thanked AstraZeneca for being the first company to provide vaccines to Vietnam during the pandemic. To date, Vietnam has received more than 20 million doses of vaccine under contracts signed with the company, and about 30 million doses through the COVAX mechanism and transferred and supported by other countries with AstraZeneca's consent.

The Prime Minister emphasized that AstraZeneca's vaccine plays a very important role in epidemic prevention in Vietnam. Currently, Vietnam is gradually perfecting anti-epidemic measures based on three pillars of isolation, treatment and testing, and at the same time drawing on the formula "5K + vaccine + technology + treatment and people's awareness", in which the vaccine is a very important link.

Thanks to that, Vietnam has overcome the difficult period when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out for the fourth time and moved to a safe and flexible adaptation roadmap, effectively controlling the epidemic, in which vaccines and public awareness play a key role.

The Prime Minister also highly appreciated the company's activities in Vietnam; asked the company to continue to actively and effectively implement cooperation activities, including technology transfer contracts and purchasing more vaccines in 2022, but in the immediate future, the Prime Minister asked the company to further accelerate the implementation of existing contracts for 2021. "In recent months, we have bought vaccine speed, not just bought vaccines," said the Prime Minister.

“We look forward to a long-term strategic partnership with AstraZeneca and hope that you will invest more to help Vietnam improve its epidemic prevention capacity and implement Vietnam’s strategy in developing the pharmaceutical industry, improving healthcare capacity, ensuring healthcare security, and taking better care of people’s health,” the Prime Minister said. In addition to investments, the Prime Minister hopes that the company will support Vietnam in training human resources, management technology, etc., and responding to other diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer.

“Hopefully, what we have achieved today is just the beginning of a long journey of strategic cooperation between the two sides. It is always difficult to start, but we cannot help but start. What we have achieved is the foundation, the belief and hope that the “relationship” between us will blossom into the best possible result,” the Prime Minister shared.

The Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam will create the best conditions for AstraZeneca to invest and operate in Vietnam, assigning the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and other ministries and branches to implement the fastest and most streamlined procedures in accordance with the law. The Prime Minister said that in addition to the potential of the 100 million-people market, foreign investors also have great opportunities because Vietnam has signed 17 free trade agreements with 60 countries, including all the world's largest economies.

Group CEOAstraZeneca, Mr. Pascal Soriot shared, through AstraZeneca establishing its first pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity in Vietnam, people will have access to treatments that help meet healthcare needs. In addition, the new supply agreements will help the community continue to access COVID-19 vaccines as well as AstraZeneca's first long-acting monoclonal antibody cocktail.

Responding to the Prime Minister's request, Mr. Pascal Soriot shared the company's investment orientations in Vietnam and affirmed that, despite the difficult situation, the company is striving to complete the delivery of all 30 million doses of the first contract in November 2021. Immediately after that, in early December 2021, the first batch of this newly signed contract will be available in Vietnam.

Mr. Nitin Kapoor, President and General Director of AstraZeneca Vietnam and Asia Emerging Markets, said this is a memorable day in the 27 years of good partnership between AstraZeneca and the Government of Vietnam.

Previously, last August, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a phone call and a letter to the General Director of AstraZeneca Group to promote cooperation activities between the two sides.

In response to the Prime Minister's request, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot pledged to supply vaccines as planned and increase the number of vaccine allocations to Vietnam. In the coming time, AstraZeneca will do its best to respond positively to Vietnam's requests; and hopes to promote long-term strategic cooperation with Vietnam, a market with 100 million people and growing strongly.