The Ministry of Health licensed the circulation of the Russian-made cancer drug Pembroria – a product containing the active ingredient Pembrolizumab, opening up more treatment options for Vietnamese patients.
On November 11, a representative of the Drug Administration of Vietnam, Ministry of Health, said that the Russian-made drug Pembroria was one of 14 vaccines and biological products approved by the Department at the end of October.
Pembroria medicine contains the main active ingredient Pembrolizumab 100mg/4ml, manufactured by Liability Company Limited “PK-137” (Russia) and registered by a facility in the United Arab Emirates. The drug is prepared in the form of a concentrated solution mixed with an infusion solution, with a shelf life of 24 months from the date of manufacture.
The drug has a wide spectrum of indications, used in the treatment of many types of cancer such as lung carcinoma, melanoma, colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, renal cell carcinoma, breast cancer… The product is licensed for circulation in Vietnam to help patients have more opportunities to access advanced therapies.
According to a representative of the Drug Administration, Pembroria is a monoclonal antibody produced according to the original drug (original reference biological product) of MSD pharmaceutical company – an American multinational pharmaceutical company that has been licensed for circulation since 2017 for cancer treatment.
Reply VnExpressProfessor Dr. Le Van Quang, Director of K Hospital, said that this drug will soon be used to treat patients. Medicines are not covered by health insurance. Currently, the price of Pembroria medicine is about 18 million VND/bottle. Patients usually use two vials for one course of treatment.
In addition to the Russian drug mentioned above, Vietnam currently has 99 cancer drugs in circulation.
Along with the drug Pembroria, in this round of issuance of circulation registration certificates by the Drug Administration of Vietnam, there are additional vaccines and medical biological products to treat stroke, lupus, osteoporosis, skin diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, blood diseases, multiple sclerosis…
Pembroria medicine is produced in Russia. Image: Focus
Previously, in bilateral talks in September, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan and Minister of Health of the Russian Federation Mikhail Murashko discussed many directions of medical cooperation, notably research and transfer of anti-cancer vaccines. This is an achievement announced by Russia in early September, expected to be revolutionary in cancer treatment.
Minister Lan affirmed that Vietnam is ready to cooperate extensively to access, share and transfer technology related to this vaccine, and expand cooperation in research, production and clinical trials in Vietnam.
In addition to cancer vaccines, the two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation in many fields: transferring technology to produce drugs to treat rare diseases, cancer and biological products; exchange of experts, students, and medical lecturers; cooperate in human resource training, traditional medicine, medical tourism, digital health and artificial intelligence applications.