The public has expressed concern following reports that some Ho Chi Minh City pharmaceutical companies and drugstores have recently received only minor penalties for violating laws.
Some drugstores of the My Chau pharmaceutical chain and Minh Phuc Pharmaceutical Joint-Stock Company were recently found selling expired medicines and drugs without Vietnamese labels or clear origins.
However, Minh Phuc was fined just VND17.5 million while the business registration certificate of just one of My Chau’s drugstores was revoked.
Some My Chau drugstores have been found breaching regulations several times in the past, but the HCMC Department of Market Management had only imposed administrative punishments.
Such minor penalties have so far proved not to be a deterrent to pharmaceutical enterprises from violating laws. Dozens of city drugstores fall foul of regulations annually but at a recent meeting to review its yearly tasks, the city’s Department of Health made no mention of revoking the business registration certificates of any of the violating companies.
Furthermore, over 350 city pharmacies that have been granted Good Pharmacy Practices (GPP) certificates have been found violating regulations, yet none have faced revocation of their GPP certification.
The public, meanwhile, has complained for years about the high cost of medicines in the country, but the Vietnam Drug Administration has always maintained that drug prices are generally kept stable and those that have increased are due to currency exchange rate fluctuations.
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