The five-person team that undertook the project comprised a wide range of skills in animal health, vaccine manufacture and distribution, business development and rural development, both in Australia and Asia. During 2007, team members worked with the directors of the VPC and VSU as their counterparts and liaised closely with other senior officers in the DLF. The initial research into the supply of, and market for, animal vaccines, undertaken in Vientiane and two rural areas in February 2007, reinforced earlier conclusions that the current Lao vaccine production and supply business conducted by the VPC and VSU was in a downward spiral towards collapse.

Strategies to address many of the issues and other opportunities were identified through a SWOT analysis and a range of business options was developed for consideration - through to allowing an open unregulated vaccine market. These options were presented and discussed at a meeting with senior government officers in July 2007. The meeting agreed on a mixed model of two options that allowed for improvements both in the current manufacture and supply of VPC vaccines and in the standard and management of imported vaccines. The nine key elements of the preferred model are:

the establishment of a single Animal Vaccine and Medicine Supply Centre (AVMSC) that would be responsible for supplying the animal vaccine and animal medicine needs of Lao PDR;
improved financial management;
a review and probable increase in prices;
discontinuing production of some unprofitable vaccines;
recovering long-standing debts;
improving quality in production and introducing Good Manufacturing Practice;
better marketing and brand identity;
appointing a skills-based AVMSC Advisory Board;
establishing a Veterinary Medicine Regulatory Authority (VMRA) to regulate domestic and imported vaccines and medicines.

The Lao Government endorsed this model in November 2007. Later that month the team returned to Vientiane to work with the DLF to start implementing the new model. In addition to running workshops on financial management and marketing, some team members experienced in vaccine manufacture audited the VPC buildings, staffing, equipment and operations. From this process has emerged a range of high-priority issues to be addressed.