GSK withdraws HIBERIX in Vietnam due to low demand

December 15, 2020 | 16:41

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GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has decided to discontinue HIBERIX in Vietnam due to low medical demand for this vaccine and follow the Pharmaceutical Law.

gsk withdraws hiberix in vietnam due to low demand

HIBERIX produced by GlaxoSmithKline

A representative of GSK Vietnam told VIR that this is the vaccine for prevention of diseases caused by Haemophilus Influenzae type b bacteria for children, which have been already part of the current 5-in-1 vaccine provided to eligible children in the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) of the government for many years and there were other alternative vaccines available in Vietnam to serve medical needs.

“GSK has filed the application to discontinue this vaccine in Vietnam and got approval from the Drug Administration of Vietnam for discontinuation in November 2020,” she added.

HIBERIX is one of the 20 pharmaceuticals of multinational corporations (MNCs) that got approval from the Drug Administration of Vietnam (DAV) under the Ministry of Health to discontinue in the local market.

The list also includes Alvostat, manufactured by Poland-based Adamed Pharma; and Climen, which is manufactured by Delpharm Lille SAS. Some pharmaceuticals manufactured by Merck Sharp & Dohme Ltd. like Singulair and Januvia are also listed.

Vietnam’s pharmaceutical industry, which in terms of market size is still at the emerging stage with an estimated total value of $7 billion in 2019, is growing at a robust pace of 8 per cent from 2019 to 2024 and is attractive to MNCs. Witnessing the growth potential, the groups are continuing to expand in the Southeast Asian country.