German firms pep up health market

German healthcare firms rely on their advanced technology to develop high quality products Photo: Le Toan

Fabrice Leguet, head of Siemens Healthcare in Vietnam, told VIR that Siemens “is proud to be the number one supplier of diagnostics solutions in the Vietnamese market, combining the strengths of both in vitro and imaging diagnostics.”

“We aim to supply Vietnamese healthcare providers with the most innovative medical technologies to properly diagnose and treat patients,” he said.

“For some patients, availability of the equipment is a question of life or death. For investors, it’s a question of getting the most out of their investment. We invest heavily in people and technical training and we are expanding our global state-of-the-art service processes in Vietnam,” he added.

Since 1993, Siemens has provided the most innovative technologies in imaging and laboratory diagnostics to numerous hospitals and clinics throughout the country.

German leading healthcare product maker B. Braun Melsungen AG has planned to raise its compound investment capital in Vietnam to $270 million over the next seven to nine years with most of the investment made within the next two to three years.

After more than two decades in Vietnam, B.Braun has two medical plants in Hanoi. The firm is investing an additional $50 million in the second stage of its plant in Thanh Oai district this year, raising the total investment for this plant to $94 million.

When the second stage of its third plant, also in Thanh Oai, comes into operation by 2016, total investment in the two plants in Thanh Oai will increase to $191 million.

B.Braun has subsidiaries in 60 countries including China, India and Japan. Vietnam is the firm’s second biggest manufacturing base in Asia, following Malaysia.

According to the German Business Association in Vietnam, other firms like Boehringer Ingelheim International, Draeger Medical Vietnam, Rudolf J.H Lietz, Fresenius Kabi, Bayer Schering Pharma, and Merck are also operating successfully in Vietnam.

Established in 2010, Merck Vietnam is engaged in the importation, marketing, distribution and trade of laboratory and specialty chemicals, which provide the Vietnamese market with high quality chemical products for the pharmaceutical, chemical, food processing, cosmetics, and painting industries, as well as for use in environmental monitoring.

“We aim to establish trustworthy relationships with our customers and partners, to excel in product and service efficiency, through constant improvement and innovation,” said the company’s managing director Frederic Fack.

Vietnam’s healthcare industry has rapidly developed and this trend looks set to continue. Increasing numbers of hospitals and clinics are being equipped with modern technology and the demand for high quality patient care services is on the rise.

“The Vietnamese government also supports the industry’s development with no import tariffs on medical equipment,” Leguet of Siemens said.

According to London-based Business Monitor International Company’s (BMI) Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report for the fourth quarter, the attractiveness of Vietnam’s pharmaceutical and healthcare market is steadily increasing. While structural challenges remain - such as the country’s ageing population, as well as poor quality healthcare infrastructure and personnel. Growth in expenditure is supported by a significant disease burden, the new insurance law, introduction of new products, more corporate investments and better regulations.