Vietnam puts biological corneal transplant technology into application
Vietnam Gene & Cell Technology Company (VGCT, CT Group) has just signed a cooperation agreement with the Central Eye Hospital according to the public-private model in the field of biomedicine. This is the first step in the process of coordinating research, transferring and preparing the necessary conditions to apply biological cornea technology in Vietnam.
Previously, in April, VGCT announced a successful biological corneal transplant on humans, attracting the attention of many domestic and foreign experts.
Associate Professor. Dr. Pham Ngoc Dong, Director of the Central Eye Hospital, said the hospital has been performing corneal transplants for many years. However, the list of patients waiting for a transplant is always very long because the source of donated corneas does not meet the demand.
"When there is an additional source of alternative corneas, this will be a huge step forward for the ophthalmology industry," he said, adding that Vietnam can approach one of the important achievements of medicine, which is manufacturing biological corneas for application on humans.
It is estimated that about 500,000 blind people in Vietnam and more than 6 million blind people in the ASEAN region are in need of corneal transplants. However, in the period 2023-2025, the Eye Bank will only receive about 300 corneas from donors for transplantation. In 2025 alone, the number of corneas received is 188, much lower than treatment needs. Donated corneas are always in short supply, forcing many patients to wait for a transplant for decades.
Dr. Dang Thi Tuoi, Deputy General Director of VGCT, said that the business plans to commercialize the product in the next few months through a cooperation model with research institutes and universities, including the Central Eye Hospital.
"The greatest value of cooperation is to jointly build research capacity, master technology and form an effective public-private partnership model between hospitals and businesses," Dr. Tuoi said, hoping this model will be replicated in many other biomedical fields in Vietnam.
Established in 2018, VGCT chose to develop biotechnology applied in biomedicine with many cutting-edge technologies such as animal organ transplantation for humans, CAR-T cell therapy, stem cells, cancer research and treatment.
Advanced biotechnology and biomedical technology is one of 10 strategic technology groups promulgated by the Prime Minister in May. The Government's list of 30 strategic technology products also includes many products in this field such as new generation vaccines for human use; cell therapy for human use; Personalized medical product production system applying 3D printing technology; smart biological sensor system; New generation vaccines and biological products used in animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, aquaculture, cultivation and plant protection.
Trong Dat