Key Development
Imexpharm has supported two scientific sessions at Vietnam’s fifth Expanded Community Pharmacists Conference, bringing clinical knowledge and pharmaceutical formulation technology into discussions on pharmacy practice. Beyond a professional education event, the initiative reflects an increasingly important competitive dynamic: pharmaceutical manufacturers are seeking to create value not only through product quality and distribution, but also through the competence of healthcare professionals serving patients at the point of care.
Held in Can Tho on October 9–10, 2026, the conference attracted more than 1,500 participants, attending in person and online. Organized by the Vietnam Pharmaceutical Association and the Hanoi Pharmacy Association, it addressed respiratory diseases, cardiovascular conditions, digestive health, reproductive health and the growing technological demands of community pharmacy.
Imexpharm-supported sessions covered the clinical differentiation of common respiratory illnesses, identification of symptoms requiring medical referral, the appropriate use of corticosteroids and pharmaceutical dosage-form considerations. The company also highlighted its research into orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs). According to its public disclosures, Imexpharm operates four manufacturing complexes with 12 production lines meeting WHO-GMP and EU-GMP standards.
Why It Matters
- Pharmacist expertise is becoming a competitive differentiator, particularly when consumers initially seek advice at community pharmacies.
- Clinical education can improve medication safety, supporting more appropriate product selection and timely referral when symptoms indicate a potentially serious condition.
- Dosage-form innovation may create value beyond the active ingredient, especially for patients who struggle with conventional tablets.
- Scientific engagement can strengthen pharmaceutical distribution relationships, but education must remain evidence-based and distinct from promotional claims.
- Vietnamese manufacturers can compete through integrated capabilities, combining manufacturing quality, formulation research and professional support.
Healthcare Insight Analysis
Healthcare Insight believes Imexpharm’s initiative highlights an important shift in Vietnam’s pharmaceutical value chain.
As pharmacy networks become increasingly influential in everyday healthcare, manufacturers will need to compete not only for shelf space, but also on the quality of scientific knowledge supporting appropriate medicine use.
Traditional pharmaceutical distribution focuses heavily on product availability.
Manufacturers develop medicines.
Distributors deliver inventory.
Pharmacies sell products.
Patients follow treatment instructions.
Yet this model overlooks the professional decisions made at the pharmacy counter.
Patients may present with symptoms that appear similar but have different underlying causes.
A pharmacist must recognize when self-care advice is appropriate, when prescription verification is required and when a patient should be referred to a physician.
The broader value chain becomes:
manufacturing quality → scientific education → pharmacist judgment → appropriate medicine use → patient confidence.
1. Clinical competence is becoming part of pharmacy-channel economics
Respiratory symptoms are an important example.
Common colds, influenza and other respiratory infections can overlap in their initial presentation.
Incorrect assumptions can contribute to inappropriate medication use or delayed medical assessment.
For pharmacies, professional quality therefore extends beyond accurately dispensing products.
It includes recognizing warning signs, communicating treatment limitations and supporting rational use of medicines.
A pharmacy’s long-term value depends partly on its ability to help patients make safe decisions—not simply on completing transactions.
For pharmaceutical manufacturers, supporting professional education may deepen relationships with healthcare providers.
However, participation in conferences does not prove that prescribing, dispensing practices or patient outcomes have improved.
Those effects require independent measurement.
2. Dosage-form innovation creates a second layer of differentiation
Imexpharm’s discussion of orally disintegrating tablets is strategically relevant.
Patients may experience swallowing difficulties, challenges taking medicine without water or poor acceptability of certain formulations.
ODTs are designed to disintegrate rapidly in the mouth and may offer practical advantages for appropriately selected patients.
This creates a development pathway:
patient-use barrier → formulation innovation → improved acceptability → potential adherence benefit → therapeutic value.
But an important scientific distinction remains.
Rapid disintegration in the mouth does not automatically establish faster systemic absorption, superior clinical efficacy or a lower aspiration risk for every patient.
Such claims depend on the specific medicine, formulation and clinical evidence.
The commercial opportunity is therefore meaningful, but product-specific.
For generic pharmaceutical companies, formulation expertise may support differentiation in markets where conventional versions of the same molecule compete heavily on price.
3. Professional education supports a broader OTC strategy
Imexpharm’s investor communications identify expansion of its OTC portfolio and cooperation with modern pharmacy chains as development priorities.
The company has also invested in training its OTC field force and supporting scientific education activities.
These initiatives can be viewed as complementary components of a channel-development strategy.
manufacturing capability → differentiated portfolio → field-force competency → pharmacy engagement → market execution.
For manufacturers, this may support stronger relationships and more informed communication with pharmacists.
However, scientific education must not become a substitute for product evidence or appropriate regulatory controls.
Training quality should be assessed through measurable professional outcomes, not promotional reach alone.
4. The next growth metric is quality-adjusted market access
A conference attended by 1,500 healthcare participants demonstrates the potential reach of professional engagement.
It does not establish that all attendees received Imexpharm-specific training or that clinical practice changed.
For business leaders, the more useful indicators would include improvements in knowledge assessment, counseling competency, appropriate referral decisions and adherence to dispensing standards.
The strategic question is:
Can investment in scientific engagement create better pharmacy practice while also supporting sustainable and compliant pharmaceutical growth?
That is a more durable proposition than relying on distribution expansion alone.
Market Implications
Imexpharm: can align formulation R&D, OTC channel expansion and scientific engagement, provided education remains clinically grounded and measurable.
Community pharmacies and pharmacy chains: may benefit from stronger professional training, symptom-triage protocols and patient counseling capabilities.
Domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers: face opportunities to differentiate through formulation development, quality standards and educational partnerships rather than price alone.
Hospitals and healthcare professionals: could benefit from more appropriate referrals and better coordination between retail pharmacy and clinical services.
Healthcare investors: should assess R&D productivity, OTC channel performance, professional engagement and sustainable margins rather than assuming training activities directly generate sales.
ANALYTICAL MATRIX
| Dimension | Current Signal | Opportunity | Key Risk |
| Professional education | Conference with 1,500+ participants | Strengthen pharmacy competency | Limited measurable outcomes |
| Respiratory care | Clinical differentiation and referral education | Safer patient counseling | Inappropriate self-medication |
| Formulation R&D | ODT technology highlighted | Patient-centered product differentiation | Unsupported clinical claims |
| Manufacturing capability | Four complexes, 12 GMP production lines | Quality-based competition | Rising investment requirements |
| OTC strategy | Pharmacy partnerships and training | Stronger channel execution | Promotional and compliance risks |
Imexpharm’s participation in pharmacist education is more than a corporate engagement initiative. It illustrates how scientific knowledge, manufacturing capabilities and pharmacy practice can become increasingly interconnected sources of pharmaceutical value.
The opportunity is to develop an ecosystem in which innovative formulations are matched with accurate professional counseling and appropriate patient use.
For Vietnamese pharmaceutical companies, sustainable competitiveness will increasingly depend on turning manufacturing and R&D capabilities into measurable value at the point of care.
The broader industry signal is clear:
Vietnam’s pharmacy market is evolving from a distribution-centered model toward one where professional competence, pharmaceutical quality and patient-centered product design may define the next competitive advantage.
Source: https://vnexpress.net/imexpharm-dong-hanh-duoc-si-nang-cao-nang-luc-tu-van-5134258.html