Purchase of carbapenems in Vietnam, a low- to middle-income pharmaceutical market with a high burden of antimicrobial drug resistance.

Introduction: Carbapenems are the last-resort antibiotics used for the treatment of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. We reported the expenditure and prices of carbapenems in public healthcare institutions in Vietnam.

Materials and methods: Data on carbapenem procurement were obtained from tender-winning bids from provincial health authorities and public hospitals from 2013 to 2018. We use the anatomical therapeutic chemical index 2019 and the defined daily doses (DDDs) to describe the purchase (in number of DDD) and the price of carbapenem (presented in US dollar per DDD).

Results: There are four available carbapenems in Vietnam between 2013 and 2018. Imipenem/cilastatin was the most common purchased antibiotic, accounting for 50.7% of total carbapenem consumption. The vast majority of carbapenem purchase (in DDD) was imported (79.1%). By 2018, among available carbapenems, the average price of doripenem was the highest (US $85.25/DDD), followed by meropenem (US $39.4/DDD), imipenem/cilastatin (US $36.5/DDD), and ertapenem (US $24.5 per DDD). The average carbapenem price decreased by 6.3% annually. The price of doripenem (P = -0.8518, r = 0.0313) and meropenem (P = 0.8875, r = 0.0183) had a significant correlation with the number of manufacturers in the market. The price variability and the number of manufacturers of doripenem (P = 0.8173, r = 0.047) and meropenem (P = -0.8116, r = 0.499) also had a strong positive correlation.

Conclusion: The price of carbapenems in the Vietnam pharmaceutical market was high. Monitoring the price and consumption of last-resort antibiotic are needed to ensure availability of antibiotics in the setting with high burden of antibiotic drug resistance.