** Its Tk. 4 billion ($51.

7m) in pharmaceutical export earnings

pales in comparison to the $20 billion the nation makes from
readymade garment exports. But the sector's growth is
phenomenal given the fact that 20 years ago, 75% of
Bangladesh's pharmaceutical products were imported. Now, 97%
of Bangladesh's need is produced locally.
** According to the EPB, in the last fiscal, Bangladesh exported
pharmaceutical products to 105 countries, of which Myanmar
imports the highest quantity of medicines worth $13.60 million
followed by Sri Lanka with $13.38 million, the Philippines with
$6.10 million, Vietnam $5.32 million, Kenya $4.60 million,
Afghanistan $4.18 million, and Slovenia $3.38 million.
** The pharmaceutical industry also set a target of exploring 30
new destinations for their products during 2016-17.
** As the sector is equipped with larger capacity to grab market
share, we are hoping to reach export earning to $1 billion by
2020, said Muktadir. He also hoped that export earnings from this
sector would be $10 billion by 2025.
** Bangladeshs export earnings from pharmaceuticals have
witnessed a 13.04% jump to US$82.11 million in the justconcluded fiscal year.
** At present, some 250 Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies
are meeting 97% of domestic demands while 30 companies are
exporting to 105 countries, especially the LDCs.
** Pharmaceuticals export increases 13.04% in 2015-16 fiscal
than previous year.
** A total of 26 countries from among the rich EU nations are
importing medicines from an emerging market like Bangladesh.
.** The TRIPs agreement is turning Bangladesh into a hub for
affordable and high-quality generic medicines and contract
manufacturing, with exports to potentially more than 85 countries
across the world. More than ten leading Bangladeshi

pharmaceutical companies are exporting generics to international

markets. Some of these companies are also emerging as
competitors to Indian firms in certain areas. Bangladeshi
pharmaceutical companies are investing heavily in upgrading
manufacturing plants and obtaining certifications from the United
States, Australia, Canada and Europe. Beximco Pharma and
Square Pharma both successfully completed FDA inspection of
their oral solid dosage manufacturing facilities and received
notification in June 2015. The top-ranking companies have
already developed world-class pharmaceutical plants with stateof-the-art technology.
** There are currently around 100 Bangladeshi pharmaceutical
companies in operation. The industry is highly concentrated as
the top 20 companies generate 85 percent of the revenue. The
top ten manufacturers by share of market revenue are as follows:
Square (19 percent), Incepta (9.5 percent), Beximco (9 percent),
Opsonin (5 percent), Renata (4.9 percent), Eskayef (4.7 percent),
ACI (4.3 percent), ACME (4.1 percent), Aritstopharma (4 percent),
and Drug International (3.7 percent). Local manufacturers
dominate the industry, enjoying about 90 percent market share
while multinationals hold 10 percent.
** Opportunities
Multinational and large national companies generally follow
current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) including rigorous
quality control of their products. This offers significant
opportunities for U.S. firms to partner with Bangladeshi
companies to produce for domestic or international markets. The
pharmaceutical market trend is shifting toward unconventional
drugs where there is greater opportunity for foreign investment.
The areas of primary demand are:
a) Veterinary and human vaccines;
b) Drug development and contract research outsourcing from
European countries, including the United Kingdom.
Examples include ophthalmic pharmaceuticals and cardiovascular medication;

c) Clinical trials of new pharmaceuticals;

d) Biological drugs (for instance, insulin and hepatitis);
e) Disease modifying drugs (for instance, anti-cancer
medications);
f) Hormonal therapies.
Approximately 85 percent of the medications sold in Bangladesh
are generics and 15 percent are patented drugs. Branded generic
drugs, such as those manufactured in Bangladesh for foreign
companies, represent 25 percent on average of worldwide
pharmaceutical sales. However, given the increased demand
from emerging markets like China, India and Latin America,
branded generic drugs may well dominate total sales within a
decade.

Link: 1. http://www.thefinancialexpressbd.com/2016/11/21/53865/Pharma-export-gets-boost
2. http://archive.dhakatribune.com/business/2016/jul/24/pharmaexport-sees-13-jump-fy16
3. https://www.albd.org/index.php/en/updates/news/1114pharmaceuticals-a-rapid-growing-export-industry
4. http://bdnews24.com/business/2016/01/24/pharmaceuticalexports-from-bangladesh-rise-sharply
5. https://www.export.gov/article?id=Bangladesh-Pharmaceutical
6. http://www.pharmajogot.com/