Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd., one of the leading pharmaceutical manufacturing and marketing company in Bangladesh, is focusing on cutting edge growth in formulation segment of Cephalosporin, through its comparatively new arm, Square Cephalosporins Ltd (SCL).
Under the flagship company, Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd., which is in the top position in the pharmaceutical industry of Bangladesh since 1985, the SCL is expected to catapult the company's growth to the regulated market, including US and EU countries. The company has established Square Cephalosporins Ltd (SCL), the pharmaceuticals formulation project, with an estimated cost of about Tk 900 million at Gazipur's Kaliakoir for producing Cephalosporins. The world class facility, built as per US FDA andUK, MHRA and cGMPspecifications, is housedin a 95,000 sq. feet ofcovered area to manufacture cephalosporin antibiotics in tablets, capsules, dry syrup and injectable preparations. The annual capacity of the facility, which has been launched by September 2005, per shift of the plant is 64 million tablets, 47 million capsules, 3.32 million bottle of dry syrups and 10.58 million of injectables. The facility was built by Telstar S.A. of Spain, a world-renowned pharmaceutical manufacturing facility, on a turn key basis.
The company envisages a steady growth on the segment from the first year of operation, as the market in Bangladesh requires a significant quantity of cephalosporin. The company has plans to fill the gap with its new arm, SCL, from which majority of the product will be utilised by the company for indigenously developed country standard formulations, according to the company sources. They opined that the facility will add new era in pharmaceutical export from Bangladesh.
The Square Pharmaceutical Ltd., the group of company with a turnover of more than US $ 300 million, has already set up two factories for pharmaceutical manufacturing needs. Square Pharmaceuticals has three GMP compliant manufacturing facilities. Its Dhaka unit, constructed as per the requirement of the US FDA, started its operation at the end of 2002. Its first unit at Pabna, was started in 1958. Its API Unit, established in 1992 started commercial production started in 1995 and is one of the largest manufacturers of pharmaceutical bulk products in Bangladesh. The facility is geared oral capsules and tablets and the company has plans to utilise the factory as part of its export strategy.
From the year 1997 the company has started its full-fledged production and marketing to all top pharmaceuticals within the country including Aventis Pharma, Novartis Bangladesh Ltd., Glaxo Smith Kline, ACI Ltd., Reckitt & Colman, Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd., The Acme Laboratories Ltd, Eskayef Bangladesh Ltd., Opsonin Chemicals, Renata Ltd., Essential Drugs Co. Ltd. etc. At present the company has its exports to more than 24 countries including Niger, Zambia, Botswana, Benin and Malawi where Square extended its export operations recently.
In Asia, the company exports to Bhutan, Cambodia, Maldives, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Yemen, Uzbekistan, Iraq and in Africa to Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Malawi and Comoro Islands, besides exports to Kosovo in Europe. The company is also exploring markets in Malaysia, Philippines, Laos, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand in Asia and Tanzania, Sudan, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, Chad and Algeria in Africa.
As the part of its target to establish itself in regulated market, the company at present is working on programs to enter into regulated markets in Europe and United States along with its work to achieve site approval by UK MHRA for its existing plant.The group of company, which is into hospital industry, textile industry, toiletries, consumer products and agro development and processing, has also its share in herbals and nutraceuticals, with a dedicated company named Square Herbals and Nutraceuticals Ltd. The company is devoted to rational phytotherapy based on four basic rules of phytomedicines suggested by the German Commission E - phytomedicine therapy based on dose-effectiveness, efficacy demonstrated from clinical studies, phytomedicines that are standardized extracts and a high level of pharmaceutical quality for successful phytotherapy. The company is operating a GMP compliant manufacturing plant and quality assurance facilities that are in line with the practices of developed world, added sources.