AstraZeneca Vietnam and Cho Ray Hospital on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deepen the medical knowledge of healthcare workers and better serve the needs of patients in HCM City and the southeast region of Viet Nam during 2023-25.

The three-year agreement will enhance the implementation of clinical trials, medical workforce training, patient support programmes and further international integration activities of Cho Ray Hospital, indirectly boosting the level of expertise at hospitals and clinics in the region.

The comprehensive collaboration will cover a variety of therapeutic areas such as oncology; respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases; cardiovascular, renal and metabolism; and vaccines and immune therapies.

Nitin Kapoor, Chairman and General Director of AstraZeneca Vietnam and Asia Area Frontier Markets, said: “AstraZeneca is dedicated to transforming outcomes for patients and increasing access to better healthcare for everyone. Furthering our collaboration with Cho Ray hospital, one of the leading hospitals in the country with profound expertise, will expand the positive impact that we jointly make on local communities in HCM City and millions of other patients across the country.”

Cho Ray Hospital is well-known for its extensive expertise as one of the leading general hospitals in Viet Nam. Caring for thousands of outpatients each day as well as delivering top-tier inpatient treatment, the hospital’s management team sets their highest priority as constantly improving their health staff’s capabilities to meet the increasing needs of patients, many of whom travel from far distances.

Dr Nguyen Tri Thuc, director of Cho Ray Hospital, said: “Sharing the mission towards putting patients first, we are pleased to partner with AstraZeneca, a leading global biopharmaceutical company, to accelerate our innovation and international integration progress, build up the capabilities of our workforce and deliver new programmes to increase our patients’ access to innovative treatment. Our enhanced capabilities will support colleagues at Southern hospitals to develop their skills, in hopes that patients can receive the treatment they need in their hometowns without travelling hundreds of kilometres to Cho Ray Hospital.”

The MoU is the latest milestone of the partnership between AstraZeneca and Cho Ray Hospital. So far, they have collaborated to implement more than 30 clinical trials in different therapeutic areas, many scientific congresses, continued medical training, and patients support programmes. — VNS