Foreign leverage rises in pharmaceuticals

As major Vietnamese pharma businesses undergo fundamental changes, there are more calls to protect an independent supply chain for the domestic healthcare sector.

- By Minh Anh

The chairman of Imexpharm Pharmaceutical and two additional board members announced their resignations in mid-May, highlighting the changes being undertaken at the firm following its majority acquisition by a Chinese company the previous month.

In April, Lian SGP Holding, a subsidiary of Livzon Pharmaceutical Group, announced the successful acquisition of around 67.9 per cent of Imexpharm, becoming the parent company.

Livzon is a major Chinese pharmaceutical group, established in 1985. The group operates in over 30 countries worldwide, including the US, EU, South Korea, and Japan.

Meanwhile, Imexpharm is among the top domestic pharma companies in terms of production quality, with the highest number of EU-GMP-certified factories in Vietnam. The company currently owns 12 EU-GMP-certified production lines across three large factory complexes.

The Chinese company has added one more major pharmaceutical firm in Vietnam to the list of those under the control of foreign shareholders, reinforcing the trend of international capital dominating the domestic drug manufacturing chain.

At Hau Giang Pharmaceutical and Ha Tay Pharmaceutical, foreign investors also play a controlling role or are the largest shareholders.

Japan’s Taisho Pharmaceutical has maintained an ownership stake of over 51 per cent in Hau Giang Pharmaceutical since 2019, while ASKA Pharmaceutical, also of Japan, has increased its ownership stake to approximately 40 per cent in Ha Tay.