Dr. Viet pursues the path of making smart drugs

Dr. Vinh, 30 years old, Deputy Head of the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Health Sciences, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, is one of 10 winners of the Golden Globe Award awarded by the Central Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union on August 8. 11. Vinh is the youngest recipient of the award and is also the only representative of the field of Medical and Pharmaceutical Technology to be awarded.

Born in the coastal countryside of Song Cau town, Phu Yen, Vinh often hunted for crabs and snails with his friends during the hot afternoon sun. When he was sick, Vinh felt the magic of pills and began to love the color of white blouses. When he was in high school, his homeroom teacher once told Vinh, “If a medicine can be made, the lives of hundreds of thousands, even millions of people can be better.” The teachings were deeply imprinted in my mind. After graduating from Vinh High School, I entered the Faculty of Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy under the French language system. This is said to be the first brick to help him realize his dream of becoming a pharmacist.

Throughout his university, master’s, and doctorate journey, Dr. Vinh always kept in mind to seek opportunities and acquire knowledge in drug research and development. While studying for his doctorate in France, Vinh and his colleagues developed potential smart drugs with nano dimensions in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer and small cell lung cancer. The research was published in 5 prestigious international journals and won the 2022 Excellence in Preparation Award, French Academy of Pharmacy.

After completing his doctoral program at Tours University (France), Vinh returned home with the desire to train a team of pharmacists in Vietnam. He acknowledged that when the team is large enough, they are the ones who carry out research and preparation and can combine with pharmaceutical manufacturing companies to serve the community. “Returning to Vietnam helps me realize my dream,” Vinh said.

Returning home in early 2022, Dr. Vinh is looking for partners to continue implementing the smart drug project while focusing on doing research on antibiotics and antifungal drugs using green solutions (from nature or green synthesis). This research direction aims to solve the problem of antibiotic and antifungal resistance, especially in hospital infections and in patients with weakened immune systems. He said, when a patient gets an infection, the disease usually progresses very quickly and only a few antibiotics can be used. Within 1-2 weeks, if the causative bacteria are not found or the antibiotics used are ineffective, the risk of death is very high. That is why Dr. Vinh and his colleagues aim to develop antibiotics and antifungal drugs, suitable for Vietnam’s disease model, focusing on disease prevention and infectious diseases.

Currently, the group is conducting research, using common active ingredients (not likely to interact) combined with antibiotics and antifungals, but with synergistic effects in improving drug resistance. Patients can use these two drugs separately as prescribed to improve antifungal status. “The team is taking the next steps to prove it clinically,” Dr. Vinh said. To research a new drug, it takes many years and costs a lot. He said, focusing on developing generic drugs (copies) will help the country proactively supply and reduce prices many times compared to imported drugs so that people can enjoy.

Professor Le Minh Tri, Vice Principal of the University of Health Sciences, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, said that Dr. Vinh started working at the school in April 2022 and won many domestic and international awards. He said that the school has established a Center for Research and Development of Health Care Products. This center has the function of researching and preparing drugs and collaborating on technology transfer for pharmaceutical businesses to deploy applications. Dr. Vinh is one of the key factors in this activity.