On February 7, a drug rehabilitation medication manufacturing plant, CEDEMEX, was inaugurated in Hanoi. This is considered an effective medication to support drug withdrawal.
In August 2003, CEDEMEX, a product developed by scientists at the Institute for Research and Application of Medicinal Materials for the treatment of serious diseases, was recognized by the State Scientific Acceptance Council as a reliable medication for drug withdrawal.
This achievement is the result of nine years of research by the Institute before CEDEMEX was officially recognized.
Based on this, CEDEMEX was approved for circulation nationwide by the Ministry of Health and is used to support drug rehabilitation in detoxification centers across the country (According to Decisions No. 90/2004 and 173/2005/QĐ-QLD of the Drug Administration of Vietnam).
Meanwhile, within the framework of scientific cooperation under Protocol V between the governments of Vietnam and China, from 2004 to 2006, the Institute continued to delve deeper into the topic “Research on the mechanism and formulation of CEDEMEX.”
Herbal drug for rehabilitation produced in Vietnam (Photo: VNN)
Initial experiments on white rats have led Chinese scientists to evaluate CEDEMEX as: “… Highly effective in drug withdrawal, safe, non-toxic, non-addictive, particularly with the ability to prevent relapse after withdrawal” and acknowledge that CEDEMEX has a better effect compared to seven other medications considered the most effective among the 30 available in China…”
Recently, in January 2006, Chinese scientists announced preliminary research results on the mechanism of action of CEDEMEX: The reason CEDEMEX from Vietnam alleviates withdrawal smoothly and eliminates cravings for drugs after withdrawal is its ability to regenerate EMDORPHIN, stabilize cyclic AMP molecules, and DOPAMINE, a neurotransmitter for recovering addicts.
This has encouraged Vietnamese scientists to be more determined to overcome all difficulties to bring CEDEMEX into large-scale production.
This was the reason for the inauguration of the GMP standard pharmaceutical manufacturing plant of Quế Lâm Pharmaceutical Company Limited (under the Institute) on February 7, 2006 (the 10th day of the first lunar month in the year of the Dog). This is an important event contributing to bringing products for the treatment of serious diseases, including CEDEMEX, actively to serve society and to promote the development of the pharmaceutical industry in Vietnam to new heights. The new factory construction project has a total investment of 20 billion VND, with a capacity of 40-50 million tablets per year, expected to be officially completed by the end of 2006. |
Many patients have reported that withdrawal with CEDEMEX is very smooth, simple, and not dangerous like previous rehabilitation medications.
Patient Nguyễn Duy Tưởng, from Kiến Xương – Thái Bình, at the Education and Labor Rehabilitation Center of Hòa Bình Province, stated that the cost of the medication is only 600,000 VND per dose. Tưởng added, “This amount is not enough for us to use drugs for a week!”.
According to the Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs of Yên Mỹ District, the withdrawal process for 80 individuals in the community resulted in a smooth experience, with patients completely alert even during the first four days of intensive treatment (120 tablets/4 days).
Afterward, patients continued with a maintenance dose for 10 consecutive days (6 tablets per day) and combined treatment to recover from dysfunctions caused by addiction, such as mental disorders, memory loss, and decreased sexual ability.
Additionally, after treating 31 patients, the Labor Education and Social Affairs Center of Lạng Sơn Province commented: “CEDEMEX provides a smooth withdrawal experience with a clear mind, normal eating and sleeping patterns. After withdrawal, mental stability improves, and cravings for drugs gradually decrease.”
Mr. Trần Ngọc Nga, Deputy Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Health, also acknowledged during inspections of several rehabilitation facilities: “CEDEMEX is highly effective and safe; patients do not experience withdrawal symptoms or cravings for drugs. In actual monitoring, no side effects were observed in patients withdrawing using CEDEMEX.” Clearly, CEDEMEX is opening a pathway for addicts.
However, currently, only voluntary addicts in rehabilitation centers are allowed to use CEDEMEX.
Mandatory addicts have not yet been able to use it because the state funding allocated for withdrawal treatment is only 250,000 VND (based on the price of tranquilizers), while the treatment cost with CEDEMEX has been assessed by the Ministry of Finance at 600,000 VND per patient over 14 days.
