INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT
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What inspired you to join the Takeda Vietnam team, and what are your initial impressions of the country?
On a personal basis, having visited Vietnam many times in the past, the culture, people, and food were something I could relate to. In addition, as a Singaporean who has been based overseas for the past three years, coming back to Southeast Asia was similar to coming home.
On a professional perspective, Vietnam’s economic development and growth have been nothing short of astounding and the opportunity to be part of this growth bringing Takeda’s portfolio of innovative medical and vaccines to its population was very attractive.
As I read more into Vietnam’s culture, its bamboo trees highly resonated with me, symbolising resilience, strength, and reflection of both the country’s spirit and our corporate philosophy. In my view, bamboo represents the strong foundation of values akin to its roots, the pivotal role of our people comparable to its sturdy trunk, and strategic flexibility, much like its bending branches.
This metaphor encapsulates the essence of how I envision leading Takeda Vietnam, ensuring we remain rooted in our core mission and values while adapting to evolving healthcare needs.
Benjamin Ping, the new general manager of Takeda Vietnam, Photo Takeda Vietnam
What is Takeda’s corporate philosophy from your reflection?
Takeda has a strong foundation for delivering long-term value and our philosophy passed down through generations. Our history began in 1781 with the sale of traditional Japanese and Chinese medicines in Japan, guided by the principle of “sanpo-yoshi”. A principle first practiced by a prominent group of Japanese merchants, it means good for the seller, good for the buyer, and good for society.
Our successive CEOs have remained true to that in both word and action for more than 240 years, while articulating their own way to bring it to life.
Today, Takeda’s corporate philosophy articulates why we exist through our purpose, where we are going via our vision, and how we deliver on that vision, through our values. Our corporate philosophy imperatives - patient, people, and planet - bring our corporate philosophy to life and guides where Takeda must invest to deliver on our purpose.
More importantly, we cannot do this alone. We look to work with relevant stakeholders in Vietnam to bring these imperatives to fruition, ensuring that we continue by bringing values to the country, its people, and Takeda.
How does Takeda’s corporate philosophy guide your commitments to patients, and how is this philosophy implemented in Vietnam?
Takeda’s global corporate philosophy is centred around our commitment to delivering life-transforming treatments to patients. We prioritise patient-centric innovation, ensuring that our drug and vaccine development processes are aligned with the needs of patients.
In Vietnam, we tailor this philosophy to address local health challenges by enhancing access to our innovative therapies in rare diseases, oncology, neuroscience, plasma-derived therapies, and vaccines. For instance, the introduction of a dengue vaccine in the country exemplifies our commitment to addressing vector-borne diseases exacerbated by climate change.
Another key area of focus for Takeda is ensuring patient’s access to healthcare, medicines and vaccines; this is where we introduced tiered pricing of our products. At its heart, this is a framework designed to differentiate price levels based on a country’s economic development and healthcare system maturity.
Takeda places significant emphasis on people. How does this translate into strategies for employee development and diversity?
We believe that our people are our greatest asset, and our corporate philosophy reflects this through our commitment to fostering a culture of life-long learning, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Takeda people live our values every day, which are guided by incorporating integrity, fairness, honesty, and perseverance, with integrity at the core. They are brought to life through actions based on patient, trust, reputation, and business, in that order.
To me, those words “in that order” are very powerful and truly reflect how we prioritise patients in our decision-making, and which is something I proudly remind the team regularly. Every employee, wherever they are in the organisation, has a responsibility to meet the highest standards of ethical behaviour at all times because everything we do impacts the most vital aspect of people’s lives - their health.
Benjamin Ping is fostering innovation and collaboration aimed at ensuring Takeda’s positive impactful presence in Việt Nam’s healthcare landscape, and bringing meaningful improvements in patient care across the country. Photo Takeda Vietnam
Can you elaborate on Takeda’s sustainability goals, and how they are adapted to the Vietnamese context?
Takeda’s commitment to environmental sustainability is reflected in our ambitious goals to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in our operations by 2035 and across our value chain by 2040. We integrate environmental considerations into product development and operations through initiatives like the Sustainability by Design programme.
For example, Takeda is committed to scaling its Plasma-Derived Therapies business while reducing its environmental footprint. Notable achievements include opening a zero-GHG emissions BioLife donation centre in Linz, Austria, and significant reductions in emissions, water consumption, and energy use across US BioLife centres.
In Vietnam, we are aligning our local strategies with these global goals by assessing options to reduce our environmental footprint across the country’s value chain. The deployment of the dengue vaccine is an example of how we are addressing health issues linked to climate change.
By collaborating with the Vietnamese government and local partners, we aim to contribute to national solutions for climate resilience and environmental sustainability. Takeda’s office was also specifically selected as it met both global LEED and WELL standards.
Takeda’s values are guided by integrity, fairness, honesty, and perseverance, Photo Takeda Vietnam
How does Takeda leverage data and technology to enhance its operations and patient engagement?
Takeda is at the forefront of harnessing these aspects to drive innovation and improve patient outcomes. Our global digital transformation initiatives include virtual clinical trials, AI-driven drug discovery, and digital patient support initiatives. These efforts are designed to increase accessibility and diversity in clinical research while optimising our operations.
In Vietnam, we are applying these technologies to enhance patient engagement and support. For example, we are exploring and applying digital tools to provide educational resources and personalised support to patients, ensuring they can manage their health effectively.
By leveraging technology, we aim to create a seamless experience for patients and healthcare providers, ultimately improving health outcomes in the region and Vietnam. In addition, we are exploring various digital tools to augment our employees to do their work more efficiently and productively so that they can focus on more value-added work to better serve patients.(C-ANPROM/VN/NON/0010/ Mar 2025)
Takeda Vietnam wins Best Workplace in Asia 2022 award by Great Place to Work
Takeda Vietnam has prevailed over thousands of organisations to win the Best Workplace in Asia 2022 award by Great Place to Work, the global authority on workplace culture.
Takeda Vietnam enhances effectiveness of dengue prevention and control
The Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City joined hands with Takeda Vietnam to host a workshop on Innovating and enhancing the effectiveness of dengue prevention and control for public health on September 23.
Takeda’s health innovation and net-zero ambition
Global biopharmaceutical group Takeda, which achieved carbon neutrality in 2020, is committed to its mission of further safeguarding people and the planet, including the development of preventative therapies for infectious diseases - such as its dengue vaccine - which are on the rise due to climate change.
