Russia's cancer drug approved for use in Vietnam

According to the Drug Administration under the Ministry of Health, Pembroria is among 14 vaccines and biological products licensed for circulation at the end of October.

The medicine, produced by Russia's Limited Liability "PK-137" and registered by a facility in the United Arab Emirates, contains 100 mg of pembrolizumab per 4 ml. It is formulated as a concentrated solution for intravenous infusion and has a shelf life of 24 months from the date of manufacture.

Pembroria has a wide range of indications, used to treat several types of cancer including lung carcinoma, melanoma, colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, renal cell carcinoma and breast cancer. Health authorities said its approval expands access to advanced immunotherapy treatments for Vietnamese patients.

The drug is a monoclonal antibody developed based on the original reference medicine by U.S. pharmaceutical company MSD (Merck & Co.), which has been licensed globally since 2017 for cancer treatment.

Professor Le Van Quang, director of K Hospital, a leading cancer facility in Hanoi, said the hospital will soon make Pembroria available for patient use. However, it is not yet covered by Vietnam’s health insurance system. Each vial costs about VND18 million ($700), and patients typically require two vials per treatment cycle.

Vietnam currently has 99 cancer drugs in circulation.

The latest batch of approvals also includes vaccines and biological products for stroke, lupus, osteoporosis, skin diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, blood disorders and multiple sclerosis.

The approval follows a Vietnam–Russia health meeting in September, during which health minister Dao Hong Lan and her Russian counterpart Mikhail Murashko discussed expanding cooperation in cancer vaccine research and technology transfer. Russia announced its new cancer vaccine in early September, describing it as a potentially revolutionary breakthrough in oncology.

Minister Lan said Vietnam is ready to deepen collaboration to access, share and transfer cancer-related vaccine technologies, while also broadening joint research, production and clinical trials in Vietnam. Both countries also agreed to strengthen cooperation in rare-disease drug manufacturing, biotechnology, medical training, traditional medicine, health tourism, digital healthcare and artificial intelligence applications.