Over the 30 years of independence, the health situation of the population in Bangladesh has improved quite remarkably. Smallpox, malaria and cholera have been eradicated or are no longer major killers. Life expectancy at birth reached 58 years in 1995. Total fertility rate was reduced from 6.3 in 1975 to 3.4 in 1995. The crude death rate dropped from 12.0 in 1990 to 9.0 in 1995 and is expected to decline further.
Today, this country is boasting of a pharma industry output worth US $ 344 million annually with direct export trade with as many as 27 countries. After tobacco, pharmaceutical is the second largest revenue generating industry in Bangladesh.
With an annual turnover of more than US $ 344 million, Bangladesh Pharmaceutical Industry has a consistent growth rate of 22 per cent. The expected turnover of the industry by the year 2005 would be over US $ 862 million. While currently exporting Pharmaceuticals to 27 countries in Europe, Latin America, Asia, Middle East and Africa, Bangladesh also exports its products to neighbouring Asian markets of Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
In the earlier years, till nearly a decade after independence, the pharmaceutical market was more or less controlled by multinational companies. These drugs, of course came with a premium. The unaffordabilty of essential medicines made the government to device a new drug policy favouring the poorer section of the population. This led to the new drug ordinance of 1982.
The Drug Control Ordinance of 1982 actually altered Bangladesh pharma industry from an import based one, to self-sufficiency and export-based economy. The local entrpreneurs found a golden opportunity in the new drug policy. Soon after the domestic began to take shape. The progress was slow because of the physicians' fixation with MNCs formulations. The new ordinance made it policy that common medicines like vitamins, cough syrups, and antacids were not allowed to be made by the multinationals.
The drug policy did not stop the multinationals to manufacture antibiotic because that is where the policy-makers did not wish to take a chance. The physicians were yet to bring confidence in the antibiotics being produced by the local manufacturers. The next important decision was to control the prices of medicines by the drugs controlling authority. The third important decision was to stop the manufacturing of combination therapies.
Stringent price control on drugs forced some of the mltinationals quit Bangladesh. While some of them stayed back complying with the new regulations. There emerged a compromise to produce quality medicines at affordable prices. Many phrmacists believe that quality manufacturing of drugs was the first tangible result of the drug policy of 1982.
Local companies dominate the taka 2500-crore pharma industry in Bangladesh with about 10 MNCs still operating there. Market share of the domestic industry is almost 70 per cent. The top 15-20 companies including the MNCs practically control 90 per cent of the domestic market, leaving little of the rest to be shared among the 100 plus companies. The major companies have adequate facilities to produce tablets, capsules, injectibles, liquids, suspensions, sustained release dosage forms, dry powders metered dose inhalers, sterile ophthalmic formulations, creams and ointments.
The major bulk drugs that it produces include paracetamol, diclofenac, ampicillin and amoxycillin among others. Imports constitute about five per cent, which includes finished formulations like vaccines, latest anti-diabetics and anti-cancer drugs.
Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd at TK 400 crore (14 per cent market share) and Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd at TK 260 crore (12 per cent market share) are by far the largest companies at number one and two positions respectively in Bangladesh. Both the companies have international GMP compliant manufacturing facilities. There are other mid-sized companies like Orion, Acme, ACI, Albion, Eskayef, Incepta, and JMI Bangla with a turnover ranging from TK 25 to 60 crore.
Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI), the apex and premier pharmaceutical trade and promotion body of Bangladesh represents more than 200 pharmaceutical manufacturers of the country. The BAPI members contribute to around 97 per cent of the country's pharmaceutical production. With a turnover of 20,000 million taka at an annual growth rate of 22 per cent, the industry here expects a business of about 50,000 million taka by the year 2005.