Opella and Long Chau join forces to enhance digestive and bone health

Opella Vietnam kicked off the community digestive and bone healthcare initiative on February 4 in partnership with the Long Chau Pharmacy and Vaccination Centre System.

Under a MoU signed between Opella and the Long Chau Pharmacy and Vaccination Centre System, Opella will support Long Chau in developing a structured roadmap to strengthen pharmacist capabilities, focusing on key areas such as disease knowledge, pharmacological risk management and patient counselling.

Opella and Long Chau partnership. Photo: Opella

Digestive health issues, such as diarrhoea and dysbiosis, are common in Vietnam and significantly affect quality of life across many population groups, particularly children. Meanwhile, bone health has become a growing concern, especially among women and the elderly, amid modern living characterised by sedentary lifestyles, prolonged working postures, limited sun exposure in urban environments and unbalanced nutrition.

These issues can be prevented and managed early through proper self-care practices and appropriate guidance from pharmacists. The collaboration between Opella and Long Chau reflects a scientific and people-centric approach to community healthcare.

Opella will also support lecturer engagement, provide medical knowledge, and co-organise training schemes enabling pharmacists to continuously update their knowledge and strengthen science-based counselling excellence. In parallel, Opella and Long Chau will jointly implement community awareness campaigns.

As part of the event, Opella and Long Chau, in collaboration with the Ho Chi Minh City Community Pharmacy Association, co-organised two scientific seminars for more than 150 pharmacists.

Dr Valentina Belcheva, general manager of Vietnam and Cambodia said, “At Opella, we believe that proactive healthcare should be simple, easy to understand and accessible to all. A critical foundation for achieving this mission lies in highly qualified pharmacists and effective patient counselling."

"Through this partnership, we are focusing on pharmacist capability development, supporting community healthcare projects while deepening our understanding of community needs. We expect that this collective effort will set new benchmarks for excellence in pharmacy practice and contribute to a healthier Vietnam.”

Nguyen Do Quyen, COO of FPT Long Chau, added that amid Vietnam’s strong shift towards a community-centric healthcare approach, pharmacy systems were playing an increasingly critical role. With more than 2,400 pharmacies nationwide and a team of over 20,000 pharmacists, Long Chau is deeply aware of its responsibility as the first healthcare touchpoint in the community.

“Beyond supplying quality medicines, we care for Vietnamese families by disseminating accurate medical information, actively participating in prevention efforts, supporting early detection, encouraging healthy lifestyles, and accompanying patients in the daily management and monitoring of their health," she said.

"This shared vision underpins our strategic partnership with Opella. We believe that today’s collaboration will lay a solid foundation for impactful and long-term community healthcare programmes, creating the basis for developing a sustainable and comprehensive healthcare model, contributing to a healthier Vietnam.”

Opella has third-largest portfolio in the Over-The-Counter and Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements market globally. At the core of its mission is 100 loved brands, an 11,000-strong global team, 13 best-in-class manufacturing sites and four specialised science and innovation development centres.

Opella Vietnam own many household brands, including Enterogermina, Telfast, and Ostelin. ​In Vietnam, Opella has offices in Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi and a manufacturing site with advanced and automated technology in Saigon Hi Tech Park with Australia’s TGA and Korea’s MFDS-GMP certificate, the only product research and development centre in Asia and one of the four Global R&D centres. Its products are exported to 13 foreign countries.

Long Chau Pharmacy and Vaccination Centre System is a leader in community healthcare, serving more than 33 million people through a nationwide network of over 2,400 pharmacies, 200 vaccination centres, and a healthcare workforce of 20,000 professionals.

In alignment with the spirit of Politburo Resolution No.72-NQ/TW and government Resolution No.282/NQ-CP, Long Chau continues to collaborate with leading domestic and international partners to implement projects that support disease prevention, strengthen community health, and contribute to a healthy society.

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