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Import drug prices recover from spike
The retail price of some foreign drugs in HCM City on Thursday dropped back to their usual price after rising by 8 and 10 percent since the beginning of this month.
The price of 44 medicines have been reduced because pharmaceutical companies failed to notify the Drug Administration of Viet Nam why prices had risen, according to a distributor.
If their explanations are reasonable the price increases will be accepted, the distributor said.
The price of imported medicines sold by the Fournier Group Viet Nam and Solvay Pharma had increased by 9 per cent, while 20 products sold by Alcon Pharmaceuticals Ltd had increased by a whopping 20 per cent.
Meanwhile, nine medicines sold by Abbott Lab had increased by 10 per cent.
Almost all the medicines that had risen in price are expensive ones, said a pharmacist in Pham Su Hanh street, District 10, HCM City.
Meanwhile, manufacturers blame the price rises on the increased cost of raw materials. They also said the value of the Vietnamese dong had fallen against hard currencies.
Earlier, HCM City's Department of Health said that some importers had justified the price rise on increased raw materials costs. However, they should have approached the drug administration, Pham Khanh Phong Lan, the department's deputy director, said.
The Ministry of Health said that it was the duty of drug importers to inform the administration every time they changed the price of medicines, or they would be fined.
However, the stipulation could create a shortage of drugs on the market, which in itself would force the price up, Truong Quoc Cuong, head of the administration", said.
vietnamnet, vietnmanews
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