Strategic directions for Viet Nam’s biotechnology development

With its advantages in biodiversity and indigenous medicinal resources, Viet Nam has strong potential to develop biotechnology products under a national brand. However, further solutions are needed to develop and effectively utilise these unique resources to create products with high economic value and international competitiveness.

Research into new biotechnology products at a laboratory of the Viet Nam Academy of Science and Technology. (Photo: Van Nga)

Development yet to match potential

According to Prof, Dr Chu Hoang Ha, Vice President of the Viet Nam Academy of Science and Technology, biotechnology is one of the strategic technology sectors receiving special attention from the Party and the state. Numerous important policies and guidelines have been issued to promote the development of science and technology, and especially biotechnology, including Resolution No. 36-NQ/TW and Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW, along with the legal framework on science and technology, technology transfer, and intellectual property, as well as government mechanisms and policies for the development of strategic technologies.

However, implementation has revealed many difficulties and obstacles, with Viet Nam’s biotechnology sector currently facing several bottlenecks. Among them, the legal framework and management mechanisms have yet to keep pace with technological advances. Many emerging fields, such as gene editing, cell therapy, immunotherapy, biopharmaceuticals, and synthetic biology, still lack specific regulations for research and commercialisation.

In addition, research and production infrastructure meeting international standards remains limited, particularly pre-clinical centres, GLP-standard laboratories, and GMP-standard production facilities serving the development of medicines, vaccines, and high-tech products.

The supply of highly qualified human resources in this field also remains limited, while domestic enterprises have yet to master core technologies, resulting in many research outcomes not being translated into commercially valuable products. Notably, the significant gap between Viet Nam’s biotechnology market and the global market clearly reflects disparities in scientific and technological capabilities, commercialisation capacity, and investment levels.

At present, the global biotechnology market in 2025 is estimated to be worth around 1.8 trillion USD, with most of the value concentrated in high-tech sectors such as biopharmaceuticals, diagnostic biological products, and precision medicine, as well as advanced technologies including gene therapy, cell therapy, and regenerative medicine — fields with extremely high scientific content and added value.

Leading countries such as the United States, China, European nations, Japan, and the Republic of Korea have been investing systematically for decades to build comprehensive ecosystems spanning from research to commercialisation, thereby securing dominant positions in the global market.

Meanwhile, Viet Nam’s biotechnology market is valued at only around 1.5 billion USD, accounting for a very small proportion both globally and within the country’s gross domestic product.

Source: NDO