For the first time after more than 2 years of Covid, Kien Vuong Co., Ltd., together with Merck, restarts again the seminar program, and this time the topic is "Trends in drug registration and development of liquid drug formulations and sterile.” with the purpose of introducing and updating to the pharmaceutical customers in Vietnam about: the trends in registration in the world in general and in Vietnam in particular, the problems in drug registration, selection of preservatives and standard solvents in the pharmaceutical industry, and issues relating to the shelf life of product materials. The seminar was held on March 15, 2023, at Le Meridien Saigon Hotel (3C Ton Duc Thang Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City).

The seminar had the representation of Merck including Ms. Diasti Lastarini – Merck Asia Pacific Sales Manager, Mr. Sumadiyanto – Merck Southeast Asia Sales Manager and regional Sales/Marketing team. The representatives of Kien Vuong include Mr. Nguyen Tuan Cuong - General Director of Kien Vuong Co., Ltd, Mr. Nguyen Huu Thanh Trung - Deputy General Director of Non-Industrial Sales and the pharmaceutical sales team in Ho Chi Minh City. In addition, there is also the participant of Associate Professor Ph.D – Dr. Tran Van Thanh - Lecturer of the Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City.

Ms. Diasti Lastarini speaking at the opening of the seminar

This seminar is an opportunity for customers in the pharmaceutical industry to meet with Merck (the manufacturer) and Kien Vuong (the distributor) and share their concerns and difficulties in terms of legal, procedural, documentation, quality and quantity of input products and, therefore, expect the manufacturer and distributor to together help the customers solve the problems. Solving the customers' challenges is an opportunity to create a close connection between the manufacturer, the distributor, and customers, creating a prerequisite for all parties to develop long-term partnership.

In the first topic "Trends in registration of active ingredients and excipients" by speaker Teoh BoonSia - Head of Merck Legal Department for Southeast Asia and Associate Professor Ph.D. -Tran Van Thanh – have given an overview of the drugs registration process in developed regions such as the US, Europe, and China. Thereby, customers can have a more detailed view of how the registration system works and can understand why the licensing of new products will take a lot of time to evaluate and get approval. As for Vietnam market, the update and application of circulars related to the announcement of excipients also have an impact on the registration and circulation of drugs. With the current situations, Merck cooperates with Kien Vuong to come up with specific solutions and provide correct and sufficient information... so that customers can correctly complete the necessary information in the dossier and registration profile.

Associate Professor -Tran Van Thanh and speaker BoonSia answering questions from customers regarding the shelf life concern

Another advantage of Merck, besides its guaranteed quality products, is the system of documents that is arranged and presented in accordance with the global CTD structure. Through the professional profile system EMPROVE®, presented in depth in the second topic "Registration issues" by speaker Rimson Muara Jaya - Merck Southeast Asia Market Development Specialist, customers can have the peace of mind about the documents and registration. During the dialogue, both speakers and the representative of Kien Vuong also receive much attention in providing the necessary information for the quality or registration department to ensure it is submitted to the Drug Administration of Vietnam correctly and completely. Kien Vuong, like Merck, always ensures that the updates of customers' records and documents are always guaranteed in the most complete way.

“Selection of preservatives appropriately in dosage forms” is another topic that Merck addresses in its research and formulation development department.

Choosing the right preservative based on its properties, pH or antibacterial spectrum is always a matter of concern for apothecaries to ensure for the most stable formula. Through Merck products, customers can have a more in-depth look at each dosage form such as pills, liquids, injections, etc. and they can to consider which Merck's product assortment is the most correct choice basis for them,

The last topic is a topic of great interest to customers regarding the expiry date as well as the quality of the related goods.

Speaker BoonSia emphasizes the correct understanding of the concepts of “manufacturing date”, “release date”, “retest date”, “minimum shelf life” … for finished drugs, excipients, and active ingredients. Thereby, the frequently asked questions about whether the quality of the goods is guaranteed or not when the remaining expiry date is very short is a matter of great concern of many customers. With experience and data, Merck can further advise the customer's quality department to develop additional testing standards for the quality of the materials. The topic "Shelf - life A sign of not stopping" receive a lot of attention and questions from the customers

Mr. Sumadiyanto discusses with the client about Merck's documents

Speaker Rimson Muara Jaya answers customers' concerns about choosing the right preservatives

Speaker BoonSia answers questions relating to drug registration from customers

 To create a more joyful atmosphere for the seminar, the organizer offers at the end of the seminar a fun quiz with prizes for the attendees to help the customers review their knowledge and also present gifts as gratitude to customers for attending the seminar.

Merck representative presents quiz prizes to winners

The seminar ends well and hopefully after this seminar, customers will have more useful information about regulations and trends of excipients and active ingredients in the world. In addition, after the seminar, Kien Vuong and Merck will also have to regularly communicate with customers to promptly grasp customers' difficulties and thereby offer timely remedial measures to increase customer satisfaction and increase the trust with customers.

Everyone taking a picture together