Speaking at the seminar "Counterfeit Drugs, Real Consequences: What Solutions to Prevent?" organized on the morning of May 26 by Tien Phong Newspaper, in collaboration with the Drug Administration of Vietnam under the Ministry of Health, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, and the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Drug Quality Control, Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen affirmed a firm stance - a determined crackdown, strict enforcement, and zero tolerance.
The Deputy Minister emphasized that the proliferation of counterfeit drugs and fake functional foods poses a serious threat—not only to patient health and public safety but also to the socio-economic environment and the credibility of the healthcare sector.
He affirmed that the Ministry of Health maintains a clear and determined crackdown, strict penalties, and absolutely no tolerance against production and sales of counterfeit drugs and fake functional foods. Moreover, any acts of concealment, complicity, or managerial negligence that enable counterfeit drugs to enter and circulate within the distribution system must also be addressed with equal severity.
The Deputy Minister of Health acknowledged recent successes in dismantling major counterfeit drug rings, citing the case in Thanh Hoa Province as an example.
According to him, the Drug Administration of Vietnam identified early signs of violations in the counterfeit drug case in Thanh Hoa Province in 2022, issuing warnings before transferring the file to the police. Based on this, the police initiated a specialized investigation, eventually prosecuting the case when sufficient evidence was gathered.
At the seminar, Ms. Nguyen Thi Truc Van from the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Drug Quality Control reported a significant increase in the number of samples tested over the past three years. It surged from 1,695 samples in 2022 to 2,308 in 2023, and reached 2,359 in 2024.
Through testing, five counterfeit drug samples were detected in 2022, increasing to 12 in 2023. Notably, in 2024, this number surged to 40 samples, including 25 chemical drugs containing no active ingredients and 15 herbal medicine samples adulterated with modern western drugs.
According to her, inspection activities face considerable challenges. Institute personnel lack the authority of quality controllers, often leading to refusal when requesting samples from facilities.
In addition, there are no clear regulations or guidelines for taking samples from e-commerce platforms, leading to difficulties in proper sealing and record-keeping procedures.
Sharing at the seminar, Business Development Director Phan Thanh Son of FPT IS (FPT Group) proposed the need to manage drug quality using near-realtime data. The goal is full traceability to prevent counterfeit and substandard drugs. This requires digitizing the entire drug supply chain, identifying each drug by registration number, manufacturer, and distributor, and attaching identification codes, QR codes, or RFID chips to each product/batch. It also involves using devices to control goods entry and exit via QR codes and RFID chips, connecting data with the Ministry of Health's system.
Dr. Ta Manh Hung, Deputy Director of the Drug Administration of Vietnam stated that combating counterfeit drugs is a difficult and long-term task, requiring the involvement of the entire machinery of the state and public cooperation.
Regarding solutions, he emphasized the immediate need to improve the legal system, increase penalties, and add regulations for controlling online drug sales, publicizing distributor information, and applying QR code traceability. Concurrently, it is crucial to tighten inspections and strictly punish violations in the pharmaceutical sector while also accelerating technology application and synchronizing the national pharmaceutical database.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Health will increase investment in the testing system, enhance community warning communications, and foster close coordination among ministries, agencies, local authorities, and legitimate businesses.
