Vietnam to officially export vaccine for African swine fever

The success of Vietnamese scientists

AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company and international partners recently officially signed a distribution contract for the AVAC ASF LIVE vaccine against the African Swine Fever in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh province.

During the signing ceremony, AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company (AVAC) entered into an export cooperation agreement with five partners: KPP Power Commodities Inc from the Philippines, PT Putra Perkasa Genetika from Indonesia), Yenher Agro-Products Sdn Bhd from Malaysia), Indian Immunologicals Ltd from India), and Earlybirds Delivery Service Limited from Myanmar.

At the event, Mr. Vu Tien Lam, Chairman of the Board of Directors of RTD Group, stated that RTD has 25 years of experience in manufacturing and trading agricultural-related products such as livestock feed ingredients, livestock feed, veterinary drugs, veterinary services, vaccines, and large-scale industrial farming with modern technology.

The Group currently has several strategic business units, including factories in Hung Yen, Ha Nam, and Hanoi, which specialize in the production and trading  of livestock feed, veterinary drugs, veterinary services, and vaccines. The Group also operates large-scale farms in Bac Giang, Thanh Hoa, and other northern central provinces of Vietnam.

AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company is a member of the RTD Group and a pioneer in researching and producing important vaccines against notable diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, lumpy skin disease, and blue ear disease. RTD recently invested nearly 20 million USD, or approximately 450 billion VND, in the research and development of AVAC ASF LIVE, an African Swine Fever vaccine.

"The success of AVAC ASF LIVE vaccine is the resounding achievement of AVAC, Vietnam and its scientists," Mr. Lam emphasized.

The Chairman of the RTD Group expressed his gratitude towards the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Department of Animal Health, and various livestock companies for their support during the vaccine testing process. The AVAC ASF LIVE vaccine is expected to encourage and revive the hopes of livestock farmers domestically and internationally.

"Although the AVAC ASF LIVE vaccine has seen remarkable success, it is only the first step to continue research and development with the aim of expanding its application targets beyond meat pigs to breeding sows and piglets. Additionally, we aim to make the vaccine widely available to livestock facilities," Mr. Vu Tien Lam explained.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Diep, CEO of AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Company, this seminar can be considered a public announcement of the research, development, and completion process of the AVAC ASF LIVE vaccine product produced by AVAC.

"After nearly 3 years, with countless research hours, animal experiments, and testing, we can confidently tell farmers and the world that AVAC has produced the ASF vaccine, one of the first two ASF vaccines to be commercialized worldwide, the first vaccine to be exported and will be widely used in many countries in the coming years.

The AVAC ASF LIVE vaccine is an effective solution to protect pig herds, especially necessary for small and medium-sized farming households, a common model in Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, and Myanmar," said Mr. Diep.

Mr. Nguyen Van Diep also candidly acknowledged that AVAC ASF LIVE is a good vaccine and an effective solution, but it is not yet perfect. "There is still a need for many improvements to make the product better, have more data to use it more appropriately and effectively, to extend the product's lifecycle," Mr. Diep said. He also stated that they would continue to research, update, and develop new products and solutions to meet practical needs as the virus continues to mutate, and the epidemiology changes complexly.

"AVAC will always accompany the relevant livestock and veterinary agencies in developing vaccine production, which is an effective tool for disease prevention and control, limiting losses for farmers," Mr. Nguyen Van Diep emphasized, while also committing to producing and supplying high-quality AVAC ASF LIVE vaccines that meet international standards, along with professional services to customers in Vietnam and abroad.

Relieving the concerns of the livestock sector

At the ceremony, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien congratulated AVAC Company and the Department of Animal Health on their "world-first" vaccine product. The success of AVAC is the result of the combined effort from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Party Central Committee, the Government, the National Assembly, and the Prime Minister.

According to Deputy Minister Tien, Vietnam's livestock sector has experienced annual growth rate of 4.5% within the last ten years, accounting for 26.7% of the total value of the agricultural sector. Most notably, the pig farming industry constitutes 67 to 70% of the total livestock sector's value. Reportedly, Vietnam currently has total of approximately 28 million pigs.

The pig farming industry and the livestock sector as a whole play a crucial role in promoting the growth of Vietnam's agricultural sector. When the African Swine Fever outbreak occurred in 2019, Vietnam suffered an estimated loss of at least 6 million pigs.

Consequently, disease prevention is a vital aspect as well as the foremost solution for livestock development. The African Swine Fever was first discovered over 100 years ago, and no country in the world had successfully developed a vaccine.

"With the collaboration of American scientists and the guidance of the Department of Animal Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, we have successfully produced a vaccine to prevent African Swine Fever," Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien proudly announced.

Deputy Minister Tien also emphasized that the African Swine Fever vaccine plays an extremely crucial role for Vietnam's livestock sector. Similarly, its importance cannot be understated in many other countries worldwide. The process of researching, evaluating, and testing the vaccine was meticulous and rigorous, utilizing modern methods with strict monitoring criteria. Furthermore, it involved close coordination with the National Biotechnology Council in terms of virus evaluation, cell environment and so on.

However, Deputy Minister Tien requested local governments to consider streamlining procedures for administering the African Swine Fever vaccine to improve the efficiency of the vaccination process as well as expand its scale.

"The partnership in distributing the African Swine Fever vaccine between AVAC Company and other countries and key partners such as the Philippines, Malaysia, India, and Myanmar is a recognition of the tireless efforts of the animal health sector, pioneered by AVAC Company," Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien stressed.

On behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Deputy Minister Tien extended congratulations, appreciation, and recognition to the Department of Animal Health, AVAC Company, Vietnamese scientists, and local businesses for their collective efforts that contributed to this impressive achievement.