In the last decade, both Thailand and Vietnam have experienced rapid growth in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. This article examines the current issues facing research-based pharmaceutical companies in each country. In Thailand, pharmaceutical companies must deal with the government’s announcement of compulsory licenses on various key patented drugs, as well as the absence of a centralized procedure for approval of clinical trials and a multitude of data protection challenges. In Vietnam, the drug registration procedure is comparatively efficient, but multinational companies remain concerned about the availability of a reference mechanism for the approval of generic products.