Government suspends operation of Valeant’s Vietnamese subsidiary
Government suspends operation of Valeant’s Vietnamese subsidiary
The Pharmaceutical Management Department under the Ministry of Health has suspended the drug manufacturing operations of Euvipharm Pharmaceuticals Joint Stock Company, a subsidiary of Canadian drug producer Valeant Pharmaceuticals, for three months.
According to Decision No. 242/QD-QLD signed by Truong Quoc Cuong, director of the department, on June 9, a May 25 investigation of the Long An-based company showed that Euvipharm “used materials of unclear origins” to produce pharmaceuticals.
Additionally,, during the investigation the department found that the materials did not meet the requirements that the company registered earlier with the authorised government agencies. The company sold the products being fully aware that the ingredients were of unclear origins.
The company’s operation will be suspended for three months starting from the signed date of the decision. The department ordered Euvipharm to stop its production lines and comply with the law in its operation.
Established in April 2005, Euvipharm is registered to produce and sell pharmaceutical products in Vietnam. In 2013, Canadian Valeant spent $21 million to acquire a little over 50 per cent of Euvipharm.
Currently, the debt-laden Valeant could be looking to sell Euvipharm. The Canadian company has recently been considering the sale of some of its assets to reduce debts. Sources familiar with the matter said that Egyptian drugmaker Amoun Pharmaceutical Co., some of Valeant’s Latin American operations, dermatology firm Obagi Medical Products Inc., cancer drug Provenge, and some drugs Valeant acquired from Marathon Pharmaceuticals are on the list of assets the company wishes to sell.
