The demand for using medicinal herbs to make herbal medicine and beauty and health products has been increasing. Amidst the competition from many products made from imported medicinal herbs, how to take advantage of the precious source of domestic medicinal herbs, maintain the brand for traditional products, and ensure the preservation of key ingredients in pharmaceutical products from growing, harvesting raw materials, processing, and preservation according to GACP-WHO standards, are all among major questions many pharmaceutical businesses have worked to address.
With its growing areas of precious medicinal herbs such as pyrethrum, erythrina variegata, and lotus leaves that meet GACP-WHO standards, OPC Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company not only has a source of clean materials but has also developed a closed production chain for products with modern technology and created sustainable livelihoods for millions of employees.
PRODUCING PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS FROM MEDICINAL PLANTS
The practice of traditional medicine and medicinal herbs has recorded the use of 5,117 species belonging to 1,823 genera of 362 plant families, among 13,766 plant species in Vietnam, for treatment, care and protection of people's health.
Facing increasingly diverse and unwanted side effects of modern medicine, people tend to return to natural remedies. However, many precious medicinal herbs have not yet been used to the full advantage of their active ingredients. Although Vietnam has abundant sources of plant species which could be used for medicine, the country has to import up to 80% of medicinal herbs. This has urged traditional medicine experts to develop domestic sources of medicinal herbs while producing medicinal products that are good for patients' health.
As a plant that easily grows in mountainous areas and is harvested mainly in the summer - autumn, pyrethrum can be used fresh or dried to treat urinary retention, inflammation, vasodilator drug therapy, and hypotensive. The plant also treats kidney and bladder stones, gallstones, urinary tract infections and indigestion. Despite its health benefits, not all people know how to use pyrethrum as a home remedy and optimise the active ingredients of the medicinal herb.
A growing area of pyrethrum in Bac Giang Province
A growing area of pyrethrum in Bac Giang Province
Motherwort, lemon leaves, erythrina variegata, lotus leaves, and shameplant are also valuable plants producing medicinal products. However, homemade remedies using these plants only take advantage of a few active ingredients.
According to traditional medicine experts, many people apply homemade remedies using medicinal herbs, but mainly for common diseases today because using plants to treat diseases requires knowledge and understanding of each type of medicinal herb and how to use it with the appropriate dosage.
In addition, the abuse of folk remedies has caused many patients to experience negative health consequences. Many had to be hospitalised because they believed in unverified traditional medicinal products. Many are advertised as traditional medicines, but they are made from imported counterfeit herbal materials. Some herbs and foods are not toxic, but using them at inappropriate times or overdose will make them harmful to a patient’s health.
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam’s pharmaceutical industry is still largely dependent on imported raw materials. On average, Vietnam consumes about 60,000 tonnes of raw pharmaceutical materials each year, of which 80-90% are imported, mainly from China and India. Dependence on imported raw materials makes the pharmaceutical industry susceptible to external factors, such as exchange rate fluctuations and supply sources, in addition to import costs.
Lotus leaves have many medicinal effects.
Lotus leaves have many medicinal effects.
It is estimated that Vietnam’s pharmaceutical industry can only meet about half of people’s demand for Western medicines, while the rest must be imported. This is because Vietnam has yet to develop an advanced pharmaceutical chemistry industry and establish specialised regions for medicinal plant materials production that meet standards, not to mention the high investment costs in technology and research.
Although possessing the potential for medicinal plant resources, Vietnam’s pharmaceutical industry has not yet combined medicinal plant cultivation planning and harvesting with medicine production. That is why OPC Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company has devoted a great deal of effort to pursuing the goal of making products from traditional Vietnamese medicinal plants. Established in 1977 by merging eight private pharmaceutical institutes in former Saigon, OPC has gradually found the right path in creating a key product line made from medicinal plants, using advanced technology to quantify active ingredients in plant materials and optimise product quality with reasonable price and convenience in use, to meet the increasing and diverse needs of consumers.
STANDARDISATION OF CLEAN MEDICINAL PLANT REGION
OPC’s coin-leaf desmodium growing region, which meets GACP-WHO standards in Bac Giang Province, is a major source of medicinal materials for the company to manufacture drugs that treat kidney stones and stones in the urinary tract. In addition to having higher incomes, farmers are also trained to cultivate medicinal plants following GACP-WHO. Over the past eight years, the cultivation region has transformed the lives of many residents, helping to develop the local economy and protect the environment.
According to OPC General Director Pham Thi Xuan Huong, several products are made from medicinal plant materials in domestic and foreign markets. However, the origin of materials in many products is unclear, or such materials are not cultivated following clean standards.
“Domestic medicinal herbs are valuable, but we have not exploited their full potential. And how to get clean input materials to ensure GACP-WHO standards is something we are very concerned about," Huong confided.
GACP-WHO is Good Agricultural and Collection Practices of medicinal herbs, as guidelines developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). GACP-WHO is an inevitable trend which plays a vital role in creating clean, standard raw materials and ensuring quality for the pharmaceutical industry. To standardise and bring high-quality, safe and effective products to consumers, OPC has pioneered the construction of medicinal herb growing areas according to GACP-WHO standards since 2006.
Huong recounted that, when deploying the growing area, OPC worked with farmer households through the government to deploy production processes, provide seeds (if any), deploy technical and control processes and ensure purchasing for people. "That's why OPC's key products are always self-sufficient in sourcing qualified input materials, as well as ensuring output supplied to the market," Huong said.
After striving to follow advanced quality management standards, in June 2015, OPC’s coin-leaf desmodium growing region in Viet Yen, Bac Giang, was certified to meet GACP-WHO standards for the first time.
After signing up to participate in the medicinal herb growing area, farmers will receive support from OPC on seeds, planting techniques and purchasing 100% of output products. The time from planting to harvest is about three months.
Currently on the market, 1kg of dried coin-leaf desmodium costs from 12,000 VND to 15,000 VND. Thus, planting one hectare of coin-leaf desmodium trees will yield a profit of about 90 million VND per crop. This revenue has helped many people in this highland change their lives over the years.
The product "Ong Gia" branded OPC's coin-leaf desmodium, launched in 1998, is considered a phenomenon in research and development of medicinal products from domestic medicinal herbs and is in the top 10 best-selling OPC products for many consecutive years. Highly appreciated for its quality in treatment, the product "Ong Gia" branded OPC's coin-leaf desmodium has been honoured to be certified as a Vietnam National Brand product for several consecutive years and is a "Vietnamese Medicine Star" product (The only award organised by the Ministry of Health).
OPC's mission is to turn the potential of Vietnamese medicinal herbs into international quality products and bring value to the community and local economy from medicinal growing areas, creating a tight value chain for Vietnamese agricultural products. Since then, the company has oriented and steadfastly followed the direction of development from medicinal herbs by effectively applying modern advanced technology to production. In addition, OPC always explores, researches, quantifies active ingredients and promotes potential medicinal sources in Vietnam.
According to the CEO of OPC, the company’s business strategy is to promote Vietnamese medicinal herbs into growing areas that meet GACP standards. Investing in these growing areas not only helps people have a sustainable income but also boosts sustainable development, contributing to the growth of the local economy and protecting the ecological environment. “This is also OPC’s difference in researching and producing drugs from medicinal herbs,” Huong said proudly. So far, the company has owned many raw material areas that meet GACP-WHO standards throughout Vietnam.
Developing medicinal growing areas is a long-term sustainable business strategy of OPC Pharmaceutical. This helps OPC Pharmaceutical proactively manage clean input materials and has great significance in solving the problem of pharmaceutical production needs of the Vietnamese health industry.
In addition, expanding medicinal growing areas in localities, especially in remote provinces, has contributed to fostering the local economy, generating jobs for people, promoting land potential, and conserving precious indigenous medicinal resources in Vietnam. This has profound implications for social security, environmental protection and humanity!
OPC products are made from natural medicinal herbs, based on advanced technology in extraction, quantification of active ingredients, production and operation. Therefore, products of the OPC Pharmaceutical brand have been trusted by consumers for more than 45 years.
The ‘Kim tien thao’ product achieves the National Brand title and is trusted by many consumers.
The ‘Kim tien thao’ product achieves the National Brand title and is trusted by many consumers.
Pioneer in technology application
Being honoured as a National Brand for eight consecutive years is an outstanding achievement for a pharmaceutical company like OPC. According to Pham Thi Xuan Huong, in addition to building closed medicinal growing areas and growing areas meeting GACP standards, the company pays great attention to the application of technology in research and operation.
Since 2012, OPC has been the first unit in the country to own a factory producing drugs from medicinal herbs meeting GMP-WHO standards.
At OPC, the SAP ERP system is being deployed to reach consumers as quickly as possible while capturing and using data from the market and customer feedback in research and development (R&D) and operation processes.
When applying ERP, processes will be linked and standardised, progress can be controlled, and risks can be managed in operations. OPC will grasp the market and customer needs as quickly as possible to meet customer needs, production and business, and build a research centre (oriented towards digitalisation and AI application). This is also the difference between OPC pharmaceuticals.
OPC Pharmaceutical has more than 45 years of experience in research, production and sales of medicine derived from medicinal herbs. Products achieving 2022 National Brand from OPC Pharmaceutical include OPC Eucalyptus Oil brand “Mother Holding Baby”; Kidney stone treatment drug Kim Tien Thao OPC brand “Old Man”; HoAstex syrup; EUCA OPC inhalation tablets; Mimosa sedative tablets; Fengshi-OPC Rheumatism Tablet.
In product research, OPC is investing in extraction technology to produce quality products with a scientific basis so that consumers can feel secure and confident in choosing products.
“With the application of modern technology in research and production, OPC has quantified the active ingredients and kept the active ingredient content intact in each type of medicinal herb. Owning many medicinal growing areas that meet GACP-WHO standards, OPC Pharmaceutical controls the supply and ensures optimal quality of each product,” the CEO of OPC confided.
OPC products are produced in a closed chain from clean medicinal herbs, with modern production technology keeping the active medicinal ingredients intact.
OPC products are produced in a closed chain from clean medicinal herbs, with modern production technology keeping the active medicinal ingredients intact.
With the advantage of owning a research and development team with excellent qualifications and expertise, every year OPC focuses on investing in research and development in terms of human resources, updating new technologies, investing in new equipment and strong cooperation with institutes and schools to produce high-value products suitable to consumer needs.
In the current context, consumers are very conscious of health protection but do not have much information or trust in products. The need for people's health care is increasing (especially after the COVID-19 pandemic), OPC Pharmaceutical is a long-standing, reputable brand with strong investment in quality products from growing areas to apply technology for research and production of medicine products, health protection foods, and medicinal supplements, aiming for multi-channel distribution, so that consumers can access and use.
OPC signed cooperation agreements with many units.
OPC signed cooperation agreements with many units.
Along with continuously updating technology, promoting strengths in research and mastering many pharmaceutical areas that meet GACP - WHO standards, OPC Pharmaceutical has gradually become a “National Pharmaceutical Brand” with several products used by many generations of Vietnamese families both at home and abroad.
Ms. Pham Thi Xuan Huong proudly said that up to now, National Brand products have gained a “place” in the Vietnamese medicinal market.
The company owns a research and development team with reputable qualifications and expertise.
The company owns a research and development team with reputable qualifications and expertise.
OPC products have been awarded National Brand certification for eight consecutive years.
OPC products have been awarded National Brand certification for eight consecutive years.
So far, OPC products have been widely distributed in more than 22,150 patient treatment facilities. The products are also sold for people's self-use needs through a system of seven pharmacy chains including Long Chau, An Khang, Pharmacity and Trung Son as well as 2,086 OTC pharmacies.
Not only being popular in the domestic market, OPC products have been exported to many countries including Nigeria, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines and Russia and are developing into new markets such as Canada, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Myanmar.
Pham Thi Xuan Huong, Director of OPC Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, receives the certification of National Brand in 2022.
Pham Thi Xuan Huong, Director of OPC Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, receives the certification of National Brand in 2022.
As one of the largest oriental medicine manufacturers in Vietnam’s healthcare industry, OPC has always maintained an average growth rate, taking the lead in a number of areas of operation in the industry such as operating many medicinal growing areas that achieve GACP-WHO standards; applying science and technology in research and production; promoting digitalisation in management; and applying GMP-WHO standards in the production of oriental medicine. All the work done, from researching customer needs, choosing medicinal herbs with strengths in Vietnam to deploying growing areas, applying technology in research, production, operation, and multi-channel customer access is OPC's affirmation of building brands for OPC products and brand.
With the business philosophy of “Taking customers as the centre and the benefits of the business, and the community and society as the goal for sustainable development", over many past years, all activities of OPC have aimed to satisfy customers’ needs. In operation and management, the previous department is always the customer of the following department. The interests of the enterprises are always guaranteed to be harmonious (shareholders, state, employees, partners, society).
Over the past 45 years of formation and development, OPC has invested in the right direction in technology, equipment, and produced many products suitable for common diseases in Vietnam. Despite being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the company still has high revenue and profits.
Over the past 45 years of formation and development, OPC has invested in the right direction in technology, equipment, and produced many products suitable for common diseases in Vietnam. Despite being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the company still has high revenue and profits.
On the journey to gradually affirm the position of the Vietnamese pharmaceutical industry, Pham Thi Xuan Huong said that the company will continue to promote its success and maintain the National Brand, towards transforming the potential of Vietnamese medicinal herbs become international quality products.
OPC is cooperating with the RoK and China (two countries with longstanding development of medicinal herbs, and a lot of experience and modern technology) on seed sources to carry out acclimatisation of precious medicinal herbs (according to the spirit of Decision No.1165/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister on developing the pharmaceutical industry until 2030, with a vision to 2045). "In the near future, OPC will also look for opportunities to export Vietnamese medicinal herbs," said the CEO of OPC.
OPC Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company has achieved the titles of Labour Hero in Renewal Period, first-class Labour Medal, third-class Independence Medal, Top 10 Reputable Vietnamese Pharmaceutical Companies, Vietnam Gold Star Award and High Quality Vietnamese Products.
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