Vietnamese drug to drastically reduce cancer treatment costs

HANOI - The made-in-Vietnam drug Pegfilgrastim is expected to hit the market in 2018, helping lower cancer treatment costs by 60 percent, the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology said Monday.

Pegfilgrastim, a product of the national program on high technology development, is in the testing phase on humans after nearly three years of research.

Used in chemotherapy and radiation therapy, Pegfilgrastim boosts white blood cells and supports the immune system.

Over 75,000 deaths are caused by cancer annually in Vietnam, while there are around 150,000 newly-detected cancer cases each year, according to statistics from the Health Ministry.