Bidding activities for medicines and medical equipment have increased in the last two weeks as a new government policy for transparent bidding, which aims to lower drug prices, has taken effect (Illustrative image. Source: VNA)
HCM City (VNS/VNA) – The number of
bids for medicine and medical equipment has risen dramatically in Ho Chi Minh
City, according to the municipal .
Many of the bids, which are worth thousands of
billions of VND, occurred in the past two weeks after the department selected
the slate of potential pharmaceutical suppliers.
The bidding stages, including the hiring of
consultants and preparation of bidding documents as well as financial
arrangements, have also been completed, according to the department.
Last week, Thong Nhat Hospital in Tan Binh district
announced that it would invite bids for three packages to buy medicine and
medical equipment, including a bid package for generic drugs worth 600 billion
VND (26.4 million USD). This attracted the attention of many pharmaceutical
suppliers.
The other two bid packages include 309 kinds of
special brand drugs (or the equivalent), with a total bidding package value of 260
billion VND (11.5 million USD).
Cho Ray Hospital last week also
invited for two packages to buy , of which the bid
security payment was already 600 million VND (26,400 USD).
Bidders have also been interested in three
bidding packages from the HCM City Oncology Hospital to buy radioactive substances
and marking compounds and other medical equipment with total value of 82
billion VND (3.6 million USD).
Winning the bids can be highly profitable as the
annual procurement value has reached thousands of billions of VND experts
said. However, there is severe competition among contractors.
A representative of Minh Chau Health Co., Ltd, a
major pharmaceutical company in HCM City, said: “Contractors must increase
their capacity in terms of quality, service delivery, and, of course, price
competition to be able to win the bid.”
At a recent bidding event for generic drugs by
District 2 Hospital, 140 contractors submitted bids. For a package of 142 billion VND (medium-sized
package), this was considered a very high number, according to the hospital.
The hospital also invited bids for two other
packages, including one to purchase special drugs and one to buy traditional
medicine and herbs, with total bidding value of more than 45 billion VND.
The three packages at District 2 Hospital have
attracted more than 30 tenders, including major contractors in Vietnam and
around the world such as Domesco, Bidiphar, Agimexpharm, Pymepharco, USS
Pharma, Zuellig, Yteco and Ben Thanh.
Bui Manh Con, Director of An Binh Hospital, said
that 121 contractors had submitted bids worth a total of 80 billion VND for one
package.
During a tender event, a representative of the
contractor, Mekong Company, said it had already participated in many bid
packages. “All of the packages have rigorous standards.
Contractors must ensure many criteria, including GSP (Good Storage Practice),
GDP (Good Distribution Practice) and GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice),” he
said.
To win the bid, contractors have to prove their
capability and experience, including the number of contracts they have signed,
experience in production and business, and financial capacity of contractors.
“We have tried to offer the most competitive
price,” said the company representative.
According to the Health Ministry, drug bidding
is being conducted at three levels in the country: national, provincial and
hospital. The Vietnam Social Security (VSS) is the State
agency in charge of organising bidding.
The ministry said this year it would open
national centralised bidding for 30 of the most commonly used drugs. It will
also extend the list of drugs eligible to be bidden at the provincial level.
In addition, the ministry will negotiate prices
of eight types of highly used patented .
Speaking at a recent meeting, Deputy Prime
Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, said that centralised drug bidding would be a vital
solution to reduce drug prices.
Extending the list of biddable drugs would not
only be economically beneficial but also a humanitarian imperative, especially
to ensure that the poor can buy drugs without worry about price hikes, he
said.
Hue asked the Health Ministry to conduct open,
transparent and competitive bidding on medical equipment and other supplies at
some of its subordinate hospitals.-VNS/VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
