Singaporean company helps Vietnam with rare disease treatment
Shire Singapore PTE. Ltd. (Shire) will help Vietnam improve the quality of diagnosis, treatment and management of a number of rare diseases in the country for the 2018-2023 period.
Hanoi (VNA) – Shire Singapore PTE. Ltd. (Shire)will help Vietnam improve the quality of diagnosis, treatment and management ofa number of rare diseases in the country for the 2018-2023 period.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed byrepresentatives of the Medical Services Administration under Vietnam’s HealthMinistry and Shire Vietnam in Hanoi on April 20.
Under the MoU, the Singaporean company will also support Vietnam in improvingprofessional knowledge, implementing policies on rare disease management andensuring policies on rare medicine supply in the country, said Luong Ngoc Khue,Director of the Medical Services Administration.
During the first stage, the two sides will work together to develop a nationalguideline to improve the quality of diagnosis, treatment and management ofHaemophilia and Primary Immune Deficiency (PID) as well as to support policydevelopment on rare diseases in Vietnam.
Linda Seah, head of Southeast Asia Cluster at Shire, said Haemophilia and PIDare complex rare disorders that require continuous medical research andinnovative approach to ensure positive outcome for patients.
The MoU is the first of its kind for Shire in Asia Pacific, aiming not only toshorten the time for diagnosis but also ensure that patients are well supportedwith adequate access to therapy and management over the course of their life-longconditions, she said.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there are approximately 100rare diseases reported in Vietnam. It is estimated that almost one in 15persons, or approximately six million people in the country, suffer from a raredisease. Vietnam has more than 6,000 haemophilia patients, but only 2,400 havebeen detected their disease situation, while PID remains common and adverselyaffects the prognosis of these patients. –VNA
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Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Vu Trung, Director of the Pasteur Institute, said that under the MoU, the two sides committed to promoting diverse and practical collaborative activities, including joint conferences and workshops, exchanges of scholars, researchers and students, sharing academic materials, and the development of specific programmes and projects in scientific research, training, and epidemic prevention.
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At the signing ceremony (Photo: VNA) 
