Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — Biotechnology will be promoted in the science and technology development scheme of Việt Nam, contributing to socio-economic development, said Dr. Phan Ngọc Minh, Vice President of the Việt Nam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), at the nationwide biotechnology conference held on Friday in Hà Nội. In his opening speech, Minh stressed that for many years, the academy has focused investment to build up research capacity in many areas of biotechnology, including genetic technologies, plant cell engineering, DNA testing and stem cell research. Biotechnology is considered one of the three pillars of the fourth industrial revolution, alongside digital and physics breakthroughs, with profound implications on production processes and society as a whole, presenting challenges and opportunities alike for the development of nations, he added. Chu Hoàng Hà, director of the Việt Nam Institute for … [Read more...] about Biotechnology to be made a focus in science and technology development scheme: conference
Developing new medicines
Health insurance should cover new medicine for Hepatitis C patients
A hepatitis patient receives treatment at Bach Mai Hospital.(Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Health experts have called on the Health Ministry to add direct-acting antiviral Agents (DAAs) into list of drugs that public health insurance covers so patients with Hepatitis C are treated more effectively. DAAs or new combinations of drugs directly target the hepatitis C virus in different ways to stop it making copies of itself. DAAs promise shorter treatment times, much higher cure rates and fewer side effects. Assistance Professor Dr Do Duy Cuong, head of Infection Department under Bach Mai Hospital, spoke about the new medicine at a July 24 meeting marking World Hepatitis Day (July 28). Cuong said that currently, there were 50 types of DAAs and the cure rate reached up to 95 percent. However, cost treatment using DAAs was high while public health insurance participants did not have health insurance pay for the medicine, Cuong said, adding that 90 percent of patients with … [Read more...] about Health insurance should cover new medicine for Hepatitis C patients
Public health insurance should pay new medicine for Hepatitis C patients
Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — Health experts have called on the Health Ministry to add direct-acting antiviral Agents (DAAs) into list of drugs that public health insurance covers so patients with Hepatitis C are treated more effectively. DAAs or new combinations of drugs directly target the hepatitis C virus in different ways to stop it making copies of itself. DAAs promise shorter treatment times, much higher cure rates and fewer side effects. Assistance Professor Dr Đỗ Duy Cường, head of Infection Department under Bạch Mai Hospital, spoke about the new medicine yesterday at a meeting marking World Hepatitis Day (July 28). Cường said that currently, there were 50 types of DAAs and the cure rate reached up to 95 per cent. However, cost treatment using DAAs was high while public health insurance participants did not have health insurance pay for the medicine, Cường said, adding that 90 per cent of patients with Hepatitis … [Read more...] about Public health insurance should pay new medicine for Hepatitis C patients
Vietnamese doctors team up with foreign experts to develop new leukemia treatment
By Le Phuong  May 10, 2018 | 07:51 am GMT+7 Vietnamese doctor Le Nguyen Xuan Truong (2nd, L) with acclaimed hematologist Guido Marcucci (R) and other partners in the new cancer research. Photo by VnExpress The research team have discovered a more effective treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia. Researchers from Vietnam and their international colleagues have developed a new treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia, according to Nature Medicine. The new treatment developed by doctors from the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Biotechnology and their counterparts from China, the United Kingdom and the United States was published in the pretigious medical journal two months ago. Le Nguyen Xuan Truong from the Ho Chi Minh City center said that drug resistance and relapses are common among chronic myelogenous leukemia patients, even when they are treated with first-line medicine. He said that researchers are trying to bring this new treatment back to … [Read more...] about Vietnamese doctors team up with foreign experts to develop new leukemia treatment
Promoting the role of OVs in developing the nation
OVs join hands in various fields The consistent policy of attaching importance to the resources from the OVs communities in the national construction and development has been realized effectively, shown especially in the increasingly closer connection between OVs and the homeland, bringing about practical results. There has been increasing participation of OVs in the nation’s political, economic, and social life, as OVs have been making more direct proposals to leaders of both central and local agencies in many fields. At present, there are four OVs from the US, Japan, Singapore and France in the Economic Advisory Board of the Prime Minister and Vietnam has set up an initial database of OVs so as to be able to quickly mobilize resources from OVs when needed. Deputy Foreign Minister Vu Hong Nam (R) presenting a gift to Prof. Yang Dao Specific policies on attracting and developing resources of OV intellectuals and businesspeople of the Party and State have helped … [Read more...] about Promoting the role of OVs in developing the nation