VNVC and Substipharm Biologics sign partnership to bring Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease vaccine to Vietnam

On February 18, 2025, Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company (VNVC) and Substipharm Biologics, a subsidiary of the French Substipharm Group, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to introduce new vaccines to Vietnam, including a critical vaccine targeting hand, foot, and mouth disease caused by Enterovirus 71 (EV71). This strain is responsible for severe cases, complications, and deaths among Vietnamese children in recent years.

At the signing ceremony, both parties agreed on the shared goal of working together for public health. They plan to enhance scientific research exchange, clinical studies, professional training for healthcare staff, and raise community awareness about disease prevention measures, especially for hand, foot, and mouth disease in children.

Substipharm Biologics, a vaccine and biologics company under the French Substipharm Group with 30 years of global experience, develops, supplies, and distributes medicines in over 80 countries, offering more than 90 high-quality pharmaceuticals and vaccines. Globally, Substipharm owns the Imojev vaccine against Japanese encephalitis, acquired from Sanofi (France). VNVC and Sanofi introduced this vaccine to Vietnam in 2019, and it is now widely distributed, protecting millions of children and adults in Vietnam as in other countries.

Substipharm has prioritized bringing the hand, foot, and mouth disease vaccine to Vietnam, a country severely affected epidemiologically by this disease.

The vaccine is recommended for use in children aged 2 months to under 6 years. Research published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet shows the vaccine is safe and provides up to 96.8% protection, maintaining long-term immunity against EV71-related hand, foot, and mouth disease of any severity. The data also indicate cross-immunity against other causative strains such as B5 and C4. The vaccine is produced using advanced technology.

At the signing event, Mr. Hervé Profit stated that the partnership with VNVC is a significant step for Substipharm Biologics to expand opportunities to bring more high-quality vaccines and biologics to Vietnam, meeting the growing demand for quality and safety in healthcare.

“We hope to soon bring the hand, foot, and mouth disease vaccine to Vietnam to help protect children, reduce severe complications, and bring positive changes in the fight against this disease, which annually burdens children’s health as well as families and society,” Mr. Profit shared.

Mr. Ngo Chi Dung emphasized the significance of the memorandum, calling it a milestone in collaborative efforts to promptly introduce this essential new vaccine to Vietnam. The disease has long posed a serious threat to public health, with a high risk of child mortality.

“Hand, foot, and mouth disease currently has no specific treatment, placing great pressure on the healthcare system. Therefore, both parties hope to secure sufficient vaccine supply to quickly implement widespread immunization for children to prevent the disease timely,” He added.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease is mainly caused by two virus groups: Coxsackie virus A16 (CA16) and Enterovirus 71 (EV71). CA16 infections usually cause mild symptoms manageable at home, while EV71 leads to more severe illness with dangerous complications such as encephalitis, meningitis, myocarditis, pneumonia, pulmonary edema, respiratory failure, and circulatory collapse, potentially fatal without timely treatment.

Recent large outbreaks in Vietnam have been linked to EV71, including a major 2023 outbreak with over 180,000 cases, many severe requiring mechanical ventilation or dialysis, and 31 deaths.

Dr. Bach Thi Chinh, Medical Director of VNVC, explained the disease spreads easily through direct contact with nasal, throat secretions, saliva, or blisters, and indirectly via contaminated objects like utensils, toys, furniture, and floors.

Early symptoms include fever, poor appetite, irritability, and sore throat. One to two days after fever onset, painful ulcers appear on the tongue, gums, and inside cheeks. A red rash with flat or raised spots and clustered blisters commonly develops on palms and soles, sometimes on the buttocks and genital area. Children under five, with immature immune systems, are more susceptible. Daycare centers and kindergartens are considered high-risk settings for transmission and outbreaks.

The main causative strains of the virus are Coxsackie A6, A10, A16, and EV71, with severe complications primarily caused by EV71. The risk of severe disease from EV71 is 16 times higher than from other strains. The disease progresses rapidly within 1 to 4 days, potentially causing serious neurological, cardiovascular, and respiratory complications such as encephalitis, meningitis, limb paralysis, hypertension, shock, heart failure, respiratory failure, and acute pulmonary edema.

A study estimated the total annual economic burden of hand, foot, and mouth disease in Vietnam at $90.7 million. The average treatment cost per case in 2016-2017 was about $400, rising to approximately $1,400 for severe cases.

Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company

VNVC is Vietnam’s leading immunization network with hundreds of modern centers nationwide, offering nearly 50 vaccines protecting against almost 50 infectious diseases for children and adults.

VNVC invests heavily in cold storage, cold chain systems, and refrigerated vehicles meeting international GSP standards to ensure vaccine safety and effectiveness. With over 10,000 staff including 100% certified doctors and nurses in vaccination safety, and professionally trained healthcare workers, VNVC guarantees safe immunization services both onsite and mobile for enterprises and organizations.

With its reputation and extensive experience, VNVC is a strategic partner of major global vaccine manufacturers such as GSK (Belgium), Pfizer (USA), MSD (USA), AstraZeneca (UK), Sanofi Pasteur (France), Abbott (Netherlands), and Takeda (Japan).

In 2024 alone, VNVC collaborated with leading vaccine and pharmaceutical companies to introduce four important vaccines to Vietnam: next-generation meningococcal B vaccine, pneumococcal 23 vaccine, dengue vaccine, and shingles vaccine, providing immunization for children and adults at hundreds of VNVC centers nationwide. These efforts demonstrate VNVC’s commitment to increasing vaccine coverage and improving health and quality of life for Vietnamese people, alongside delivering safe vaccination and high-quality services.

Beyond immunization services, VNVC is constructing a vaccine manufacturing plant in Long An province, investing over 2,000 billion VND, built to high standards including EU GMP, FDA, PIC/S, and WHO, aiming to produce vaccines and biologics domestically. VNVC has reached cooperation agreements to transfer technology and produce several vaccines with Sanofi, a leading global pharmaceutical company.

Substipharm Biologics

Substipharm is a privately held French healthcare group with over 30 years of global experience, specializing in developing, supplying, and distributing medicines in over 80 countries, with a portfolio of more than 90 high-quality pharmaceuticals, biologics, and vaccines.

In 2022, Substipharm acquired IMOJEV®, a Japanese encephalitis vaccine from Sanofi, along with a 49% stake in the Japanese encephalitis vaccine manufacturing plant in Bangkok, Thailand, and established Substipharm Biologics in Geneva, Switzerland, focusing on vaccines and biologics. IMOJEV® is available in 14 countries across the Asia-Pacific, Southeast Asia, and Australia, recognized as the best Japanese encephalitis vaccine. VNVC has been administering IMOJEV® in Vietnam since 2019. Recently, Substipharm Biologics and Medigen announced cooperation to commercialize Envacgen and a new hand, foot, and mouth disease vaccine.

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