Bangladesh’s growing pharmaceutical sector
The export value of pharmaceuticals is growing at a reasonable rate every year. Exports increased from $8.2 million in 2004 to $28.3 million in 2007 and posted further gains last year. Export destinations are also increasing in number.
Beginning in the 1950s, when a few multinationals and local entrepreneurs set up manufacturing facilities in the then East Pakistan, now over 200 companies produce now medicines in Bangladesh.
The pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh has otherwise the potential to grow and enjoy a number of competitive advantages. Quality assurance has put the industry on a solid base. Almost all companies follow the World Health Organisation (WHO) Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards.
Bangladesh’s strict quality compliance gives pharmaceuticals an advantage to compete with producers in India, China, Brazil and Turkey in the overseas export markets. The capability of the industry has helped it achieve excellence as per the general international standards.
A good number of local pharmaceutical companies have won accreditation from the overseas regulatory authorities including some of those in the developed countries. Two such local companies have been accredited by EMEA (Austria) and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA-Australia). The accreditation facilitates their entry into the lucrative market as reputed players. Bangladesh’s national drug policy requires strict standards compliance from the pharmaceutical manufacturers.
The Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) is recognised worldwide for its holistic approach for the control and management of manufacturing and quality control testing of food and pharmaceutical products.
Bangladeshi pharmaceutical industries are expanding their exportable items. The country is now exporting a reasonably wide range of pharmaceutical products covering therapeutic classes and dosage forms like tablets, capsules and syrups.
Bangladesh also exports some high-tech specialised products like, HFA, inhalers, suppositories, hormones, steroids, oncology, immunosuppressant products, nasal sprays, injectibles and IV infusions. The sector stands on a sound footing due to the growing demand of medicines for the country’s 150 million people.
The industry, producing quality medicines at an affordable price for millions of people, has made Bangladesh almost self-reliant in pharmaceutical products. It meets the major part of local demand for medicines.
Mortality from major epidemics, malaria, dengue, cholera and typhoid, has also been reduced substantially over the years in Bangladesh. Increased affordability and availability of medicines have contributed to this achievement.
Bangladesh’s average life expectancy of about 63 years is otherwise at a high level in South Asia though its per capita consumption of medicines is at one of the lowest levels in the region. A good number of new factories that have come up in recent years, have aggressive sales and promotion strategies. A sizeable number of them have their own manufacturing facilities of which five are multinationals.
The sector is active in API (active pharmaceutical ingredients). Many companies now locally manufacture a good number of APIs. However, compared to large local demand, more API industries are needed to be set up. Pharmaceutical industries’ potential has multiplied with the recently approved API industrial park in Munshigonj.
The API can save at least 70 per cent of the cost of import of pharmaceutical raw materials from aboard. Skilled professionals at home and abroad are joining the industry’s human resources pool every year.
Currently, bio-equivalency tests are conducted in Singapore, Malaysia and in European countries, resulting in some hefty operational expenditures on the part of pharmaceutical industries. More investments in these sub-sectors would be needed in future. Foreign investors can take advantage of the flourishing industry.
It is estimated that over $250 million have been invested in this sector over the recent years for facility modernisation and setting up of new facilities.
All of these investments were for developing full GMP compliant facilities to meet the stringent regulatory requirement of any country of the world. The investment has already started paying off as most of the companies have either already received certification or are about to get the approval from more regulatory authorities at abroad. This has opened up wider opportunities for the Bangladeshi companies to claim a bigger share in the large global pharmaceutical market.