Novartis, FPT Long Chau partner to support cardiovascular patients

With this signing ceremony, Novartis and FPT Long Chau launched a comprehensive partnership focusing on strengthening the consultation capability of pharmacists in cardiovascular, diabetes, oncology, and ophthalmology areas.

Joining hands to protect the hearts

The project aims to improve awareness in the community and supporting patients with early screening and detection of cardiovascular diseases and treatment compliance.

Specific activities include strengthening pharmacist consultation efficiency. Accordingly, Novartis will cooperate with specialized associations to offer training for FPT Long Chau pharmacists, help them improve their counseling effectiveness, and provide trainings and practical skills to optimize treatment for outpatients.

To develop healthcare projects on digital platforms, Novartis and its partner will co-create and implement disease awareness programs, initiate question-and-answer platforms with experts, consult on drug use, nutrition, provide educational articles on FPT Long Chau online platforms like fan-pages and health information channels for patients.

Both companies will implement patient-community education programs to raise public awareness about disease prevention and treatment, and partner in community healthcare programs.

Collaborating with local distributors, Novartis will ensure the supply of high-quality drugs is available and accessible to meet the treatment needs of patients.

Representatives of Novartis Vietnam (L) and FPT Long Chau at the signing ceremony, Aug. 15, 2022. Photo by Novartis Vietnam

Expectations in long-term partnership

The signing ceremony of the Heart Protection project is a milestone in the partnership between Novartis and FPT Long Chau.

This is also part of Novartis's long-term commitment in ensuring easy access to treatment for patients with high-quality medicines, developing healthcare programs on digital platforms, coordinating to implement patient-community programs, and strengthening the consultation capability for pharmacists.

"Improving the quality of pharmacist consultation and increasing patient awareness are our top priorities. Novartis hopes that the cooperation project with FPT Long Chau will contribute to reducing the burden on Vietnam's healthcare system," said Karina Ng, country president, Novartis Vietnam.

Karina Ng, country president, Novartis Vietnam. Photo by Novartis Vietnam

Nguyen Do Quyen, managing director, FPT Long Phau Pharma JSC, said: "It is our top priority to keep the commitment in ensuring the supply of high-quality medicines to patients with reasonable price. We accompany patients on their journey to fight against their illness. This partnership with Novartis once again affirms the mission and goal of Long Chau in being ready to serve public health, fully meet all the needs of healthcare products for Vietnamese with reasonable price and outstanding services."

Novartis cooperates with FPT Long Chau, a pharmacy chain covering 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam. Photo by Novartis Vietnam

According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally, claiming the lives of about 17.9 million people each year. Of these, 85% are due to heart attacks and strokes, a third of which are people under the age of 70.

In Vietnam, cardiovascular disease accounted for 31% of all deaths (more than 170,000 people) in 2016, among those, many cases have not been detected and treated in time.

In addition to congenital causes, cardiovascular disease is a consequence of unhealthy lifestyle, eating habits, alcohol abuse or diabetes-related complications. These "intermediate risk factors" can be diagnosed early, helping to prevent death.

However, due to insufficient knowledge in self-monitoring healthcare as well as difficulties in accessing standard medical conditions, many patients have missed the "golden time" for timely treatment. A survey by Vietnam Heart Institute showed that about 12 million people have high blood pressure, of which 9.7 million are not aware they are living with the disease or their treatment is not efficient.

Novartis is a leader in innovative medicines across many therapeutic areas like oncology, cardiovascular (hypertension, heart failure, diabetes), respiratory (asthma, COPD); ophthalmology; pain relief; neuroscience, dermatology and immunology, cell and gene therapy... As a leading global medicines company, Novartis uses innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need.

The company is also a leader in high quality generics and biosimilars through its sandoz unit, and one of the largest investors in clinical trials in Vietnam. Novartis ranked among the world’s top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach nearly 800 million people globally. About 110,000 people of more than 140 nationalities work at Novartis around the world.

In early 2020, Novartis Vietnam Ltd. became a multinational pharmaceutical company that successfully transformed into a foreign-invested enterprise, fully operationalizing its activities.

FPT Long Chau has a network of pharmacies covering all 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam. The chain has nearly 700 pharmacies and more than 6,000 pharmacists.

The trend of applying and developing digital platforms has opened many opportunities in supporting patients to access treatment and improve healthcare knowledge. As leaders in digital transformation, Novartis and FPT Long Chau are expected to optimize this advantage in realizing the project's goals, thereby supporting patients to easily access high-quality medicines, further improve treatment outcomes, and save or improve their lives.