Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (BPL), a pharma major of Bangladesh, is looking forward for phenomenal growth, rather than the traditional pattern of growth, in the year 2007, playing on its strength in product portfolio and manufacturing facilities.The company has fixed its target in regulated market for further growth from the year 2007, with its upgraded manufacturing facilities on oral solid dosage (OSD), while it has plans to grow in domestic market with brand new products including Chloroflurocarbon (CFC) free inhalers. The company, which is one among the largest MDI manufacturer of Bangladesh, has introduced Chloroflurocarbon (CFC) free ozone-benign Hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) based inhalers for the first time in Bangladesh in 2006.
The new HFA based formulations is expected to enter the highly regulated markets of the US and EU which represents the major share of the world Metered Dose Inhaler (MDI) market worth US$ 10 billion, according to a 2005 estimate. With this, the company became one among fourteen companies in the world who have marketed the technology driven, life saving CFC-free HFA MDIs. Beximco has earlier launched a novel, new generation corticosteroid inhaler Cesonide for the treatment of adults suffering from persistent asthma.
The company's venture to win the regulated market has also crossed a milestone in the year, as it has commenced production works in USFDA standard OSD plant established to enable the BPL to supply products in different international markets particularly in the US and Europe. The new OSD plant with the production of Napa, one of the leading pharmaceutical brands in Bangladesh, has been commenced by the beginning of October 2006. With an investment of more than £ 25 million for the facility, the company has targeted to facilitate the registration of regulated market, and enable supply of its certain products in international markets, particularly in Europe and the US eyeing the relatively higher pricing than in less-developed markets where BPL's products are already present.
Along with plans envisaging the growth in regulated market, the company also commissioned two complete manufacturing lines in the plant out of a total of five lines to generate products targeted at the local Bangladeshi market. Currently, products including Napa (Paracetamol 500 mg tablet) and Neoceptin-R (Ranitidine 150mg 300 mg tablets) are manufactured here while the facility eventually occupies a number of products of cardiovascular, anti-biotic, anti-depressant, anti-diabetic and other therapeutic classes. The company plans to take advantage of the Doha Declaration exempting the 50 least developed countries from the TRIPS agreement until 2016.
BPL is targeting to increase the manufacturing of the plant to full capacity during the first quarter of 2007, for the regulated market, while the facility will cater products for the local and non regulated export markets upto the time, according to the company officials. "With this added capacity, we are poised to break our traditional growth pattern and we are aiming at phenomenal growth in 2007," according to Nazmul Hassan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BPL. The officials also added that the BPL will introduce new technologies, new brands and add Ophthalmics, Nebulizer solutions and Injectables in its portfolio in 2007.
BPL, based in Dhaka, is a member of the Beximco Group, one among the largest private sector industrial conglomerate in Bangladesh. The company, which commenced operation in 1980 has been manufacturing products under the licenses of Bayer AG of Germany and Upjohn Inc of USA. The company officials claim that BPL, at present, is supplying approximately 10% of country's total medicine need. The company has a spectrum of products on diseases including AIDS, cancer, infection, asthma, hypertension and diabetes for both national and international markets. BPL is also engaged in contract manufacturing for various multinational companies.