The herbalist in Viet Nam who wants to modernize traditional medicine and make it accessible for all.
Pham Thi Chan is a well-known scientist and herbalist in Viet Nam. Through two decades of research, she has released several innovative plant-based treatments and is at the helm of her company, Khanh Thien Pharmaceuticals.
Ms. Pham comes from an impoverished family. None of her brothers or sisters finished school. However, she had a passion for healing and became the apprentice of Nguyen Tai Thu, a famous herbalist in Viet Nam. After years of training, she became an expert herbalist and acupuncturist.
In the early 1990s, she used acupuncture to treat various forms of addiction. A philanthropist, for the last 15 years, she has been routinely treating disadvantaged people free in Viet Nam and around the world, arguing, “Those people have less than I do.”
She established her company, Khanh Thien Pharmaceuticals, in 2013 and opened a clinic for consultations and treatments in Hai Phong. She opened a second clinic in Hanoi in 2018.
Ms. Pham’s vision when creating Khanh Thien Pharmaceuticals was to preserve, develop, and modernize traditional medicine. Her wish “was for everyone to be able to treat common ailment at home efficiently and affordably,” she said.
Wormwood Moxibustion Machine- Based on Traditional Chinese Medicine Therapy
One of the lead patented products commercialized by Khanh Thien Pharmaceuticals since 2018 is the Wormwood Moxibustion Machine. This non-invasive device applies heat and herbal essential oils to the patient’s body. Moxibustion is a traditional Chinese therapeutic method that uses heat at acupuncture points.
The millennial method of manual moxibustion is cumbersome to use on oneself and quite dangerous, with people burning and scaring themselves. The home treatment device invented by Ms. Pham is compact, easy to use, runs on 5V voltage, and is safe for patients to use at home. She explained the machine exhales adjustable heated but harmless smoke, dispelling the risk of burns. According to the company’s website, the device can be used on people of all ages and does not produce any side effects.
The Wormwood machine comes with wormwood bars that are inserted into its combustion chamber. As the bars burn, herbal essential oils are extracted and directly target acupuncture points and meridians. The patented bars include wormwood, cinnamon, clove, ginger, and camphor and seek to bring relief to a variety of ailments, including sciatica, headaches, asthma, back and joint pains, polyarthritis, and hemiplegia after a cerebrovascular accident.
Wormwood (Artemisia annua), a medicinal plant, has been used across Southeast Asia for its therapeutic properties for thousands of years.
Wormwood – A Key Ingredient in Herbal Health Products
Ms. Pham’s long commitment to research yielded other wormwood and herbal-derived products, including the multi-purpose Wormwood powder filter bags used to fight colds, reduce bruising, improve blood circulation, and be used for baths or as face masks.
Wormwood is again one of the main ingredients of the “Health protection food Minh Chau Khanh Thien” pills to prevent and treat coronavirus infections, including COVID-19, SARS, and their symptoms, such as headaches, fever, bronchitis, and sore throat.
“Khanh Thien Dia Nhan Elixir” is a botanical antibiotic preparation for long COVID-19 effects such as persistent cough, insomnia, headaches, and shortness of breath, as well as addressing acute and chronic respiratory infections. “Khanh Thien Babyan Syrup” has the same indications but for small children.
“Khanh Thien Liver Tonic and Calming Tea” is a natural herbal tea for liver detoxification, preventing and treating hepatitis, cirrhosis, high liver enzymes, jaundice, urticaria, and allergies. According to Khanh Thien, all products are chemical-free and have passed requirements from the Vietnamese Health Ministry before circulation.
Khanh Thien Pharmaceuticals manufactures its products in Hai Phong with plants from Viet Nam and China. The Viet Nam Ministry of Health licensed the company’s products for circulation as health food.
The company’s factory produces wormwood tablets and machines. All health food is outsourced to factories awarded good manufacturing practices (GMP).
Insect-Repellent Woodworm Incense Sticks and Firewood with Health Benefits
Woodworm incense sticks that are insect repellent and have air-cleaning properties are another invention of Ms. Pham, as well as the “Khanh Thien Tonic Ginseng Tea” that combines a long list of herbal ingredients, including ginger, mint, garlic, licorice, and sandalwood. It helps prevent and supports the treatment of acute respiratory infections.
Chemical-free Khanh Thien patented Herbal Firewood is made from different medicinal herbs and rice husk as filler. It is used in fireplaces, wooden stoves, and saunas instead of honeycomb charcoal. It serves as fuel but can alleviate cold symptoms, prevent virus infections, and repel insects.
Firm Reliance on IP Protection, Enforcement Issues
A recipient of the Viet Nam Science and Technology Award in 2017, Ms. Pham holds several patents for scientific inventions in the medical field. Her wormwood moxibustion machine and the wormwood pills received a design patent and a trademark.
She registered all her patents and trademarks in Viet Nam, her primary market. Khanh Thien Pharmaceuticals’ products are sold online, through telephone orders, and at the company’s clinics.
However, she finds enforcing her patent on the moxibustion machine difficult, and she is concerned about people copying her and providing low-quality and unsafe products to patients.
Most customers come from the national market, although some foreign customers from the United States and Europe buy the products online.
Ensuring Healthy Lives for All in Vietnam and Beyond
In the next few years, Ms. Pham plans to expand the company’s distribution network, mainly working with pharmacies and on wholesale offers.
She also intends to enter the international market, starting with products such as incense and teas, particularly in the European Union, the United States, and Australia. She is working with WIPO to define a branding strategy to expand sales nationally, enter the export market, and update her trademark.
She wants to become a leading enterprise in Viet Nam in research and production of science and technology products to contribute to the country’s health care system contributing to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 in ensuring healthy lives for all.
