The made-in-Vietnam drug pegfilgrastim is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2018, helping reduce cancer treatment costs by up to 60 percent compared with imported drugs, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.
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| A cancer patient under treatment. |
The made-in-Vietnam drug pegfilgrastim is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2018, helping reduce cancer treatment costs by up to 60 percent compared with imported drugs, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Pegfilgrastim is a product of the national programme on high technology development, implemented by the biotechnology and pharmacy firm Nanogen in 2014.
Pegfilgrastim, which boosts white blood cells and supports the immune system, is used in chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Nanogen plans to produce 120,000 tubes of the drug (6 mg per tube) which meet European standards. The company has so far completed the drug production procedures and tests of the drug quality in the laboratory and on animals, while clinical trials have also been conducted.
(Source: VNA)
