Greater public awareness in the past decade, increased rural penetration of manufacturers , aggressive marketing by local companies and investments at an enhanced rate have accelerated the growth of pharma sector in Bangladesh. Moreover the positive changes in the country's political scenario after two year of uncertainty has added to the momentum of growth.
While rising population and booming hospitals and clinics are pushing retail sales up, buying capacity of the public has also increased. Ridingon public health consciousness and booming hospitals and clinics, retail pharmaceutical sales are also expected to reach Tk 6,000 crore this year, say industry observers.
Annual turnover from retail drugs sales was Tk 4,701.63 crore in 2008, nearly seven per cent rise over the figure a year earlier, according to Information on Medical Statistics (IMS) 2008 Survey. As the local demand for pharmaceutical products is expected to double by 2015, the leading Bangla pharmaceutical companies are gearing up to expand operations to meet local demand. At the same time many new players are also entering the field.
The market size of the pharmaceutical industry currently stands at Tk 20,000 crore, say industry observers. At present there are about 250 small, medium and large local and multinational companies are in operation. Many started their business after 2000 sensing the growth potential in the local market.
Of the 250 companies, top 10 companies - Square, Beximco, Eskayef, Incepta, Acme, ACI, Opsonin, Renata, Aristopharma and Drug International has nearly 70 per cent of the Tk 5000 crore says the market survey.
According to IMS Eskayef, Renata, ACI and Drug International posted the best growth results among the top 10 companies in Bangladesh in 2008, while Square, Beximco, Incepta, Acme, Aristopharma, and sanofi aventis are other players that performed well.
Pharmaceutical is an emerging and prospective industry in Bangladesh. Currently, there are around 250 pharmaceutical companies that meet almost the entire domestic demand.
While new investments have given a booster shot to the sector, setting a new benchmark for turnover every year, about eight top companies have laid out plans to increase production capacities, according to some reports. Leading players like Acme Laboratories, Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Eskayef Bangladesh Ltd, Advanced Chemical Industries Ltd (ACI) are all beefing up activities. This increased activity of the domestic pharma units have enabled ordinary people to access to high-quality medicines.
The fast rising demand for pharmaceutical products in the domestic market has prompted Acme Specialised Pharmaceuticals Ltd located in Dhamrai to go in for expansion.
Since with its present infrastructure it is not possible to meet the Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP) criteria set by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the company is going to set up a bigger and better factory to meet requirements.
Pharmaceutical and biotech firms have to follow the CGMP to ensure that products meet specific requirements for identity, strength, quality and purity. According to the US Food and Drug Administration, the CGMP must be rigorously applied as products move forward in development.
Acme which had begun work on its new manufacturing facility in 2008 has already completed 60 per cent of the work and hopes to begin operations by June 2010. Acme will be producing anti-cancer and anti-AIDS drugs, the market for which is now almost fully dependent on imports, in addition to other drugs. The new unit is expected to enhance supply to both local and international markets by more than 20 per cent from the first year of production.
In order to meet the local demand as well as growing exports ,Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh,a company with a 20 per cent market share, is also undertaking massive expansion plans.
The company started work early this year on its new manufacturing unit to produce anti-cancer drugs and other pharmaceutical products in Kaliakoir, north of Dhaka. The first phase of construction will end by 2012. From then on, it will be able to increase output. The project is expected to be complete 2016.
The new unit will be built in two phases in the next seven years to manufacture three types of products - solid doses form, large volume parenteral (LVP) and special products, such as anti-cancer drugs.
According to some reports a number of few domestic companies are now making cancer-resistant drugs as the number of patients are on the rise in Bangladesh.
The cost of the project has been estimated at Tk 514 crore . About Tk 360 crore has been earmarked for the first phase which is targeted to be complete by December 2012, and Tk 154 crore for the second phase to be completed by June 2016.
The company which is listed on both the Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges, expects to produce five billion tablets, 1.5 billion capsules, 60 million injections and 11 million pieces LVP in the first phase.
In the second phase, the company targets to produce 4.5 billion pieces tablets, 1.2 billion capsules, 10 million injections and nine million LVP.
The board of directors of Square Pharma has also decided to purchase capital machinery and building for an insulin project from Square Biotechs Ltd at a cost of Tk 81.23 crore, on a cost price basis.
The board has also approved Tk 50 crore for balancing, modernisation, renovation and expansion (BMRE ) purpose and the purchase of land to extend existing projects and future expansion.
According to IMS survey, Square Pharma holds a fifth of the total market share with Tk 943 crore sales in 2008.
Advanced Chemical Industries Ltd (ACI) is also expanding operations in order to meet the CGMP. However the new factory is likely to produce medicine solely for the domestic market.
Eskayef Bangladesh Ltd, has completed its new 'state-of-the-art' facility commissioned by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) of UK in August 2008.Eskayef is the third company to obtain the MHRA certification, after Square Pharma and Renata.
At the same time the popular Igloo ice cream maker, Abdul Monem Limited (AML) will be entering the pharmaceutical sector within the next couple of months to manufacture high-end products drugs with .brand name Novus.
According to some reports, AM Pharma has already installed machineries at its plant at Hemayetpur in Gazipur. The main objective of the company to enter the drug market is to produce and market quality drugs at affordable prices.
AM Pharma will produce initially 24 generic products mostly related to common diseases including diabetes and heart disease. While it is initially investing around Tk 200 million, it will be expanding the plant in second and third phases investing further.
AML has a number of concerns including Coca Cola, construction, sugar refineries employing over 5000 local people. The group's annual turnover is around Tk 10 billion.
In the meanwhile Eskayef Bangladesh Ltd, a leading pharmaceutical company in the country, has started exporting medicines to a UK firm from July.
It initially got an export order of Diuretics and Omeprazole worth around $3 million from a UK drug company and have already sent its first consignment. The company has already got approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) of UK in August 2008, which allows the company to export pharmaceutical products to the European market.
Though MHRA takes a long time, even years, to give such a go-ahead, Eskayef has achieved it in only eight months because the company had complied with the MHRA requirements, including quality assessment and hygiene maintenance.
In addition to this order the company has been allowed to export non-sterile production of tablets, capsules and pellets, which would help the company to grow further, both locally and globally. The company is hoping to raise exports to $5 million in 2009 from $3 million a year ago.
Eskayef manufactures and markets a wide range of therapeutic drugs, bulk pellets and animal health and nutrition products. Its 2008 sales reached $60 million, while the figure was only half a million US dollars in 1990, the year Transcom Group took over the company. According to a report the company has set a target to sell drugs worth Tk 400 crore this year. The company is putting constant efforts to ensure quality medicines for consumers at affordable prices.
The countries where Eskayef bulk pellets and finished products are now exported include Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, Vietnam, Kenya and some Central American countries.
The diversified Nasir Group has decided to set up three new different types of industries to expand its business activities to a wide variety of areas, according to a report. The group, which is one of the largest family-owned business conglomerates in the country, will set up a pharmaceutical plant, a BOPP making unit and a fertiliser factory soon to gear up its businesses. Of the three new plants, the group will set up pharmaceutical first, it is understood.
With the launching of its 13 brand new medicine products, RAK Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd, the drug-manufacturing arm of the global conglomerate RAK Group has entered the country's booming pharmaceuticals market .
The UAE-based corporate giant with a substantial presence in the local market for ceramic products has emerged as the latest player in the country's highly competitive pharmaceuticals sector.
The company formally unveiled its whole new range of medicine products through an official launching ceremony at a city hotel recently. The company would be extensively capitalizing on its experience in pharmaceuticals sector in other countries to make a mark into the Bangladeshi market.
From its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility set up on 5.3 acre area at Sreepur of Gazipur and built at an expense of Tk. 800 million, the company would go all-out to maintain the best quality in manufactured products, according to a report.
One of the leading pharmaceutical companies and a market leader of animal health products in Bangladesh, Renata Ltd, plans to export its medicines to 15 more countries in bid to strengthen its presence in the global market.
The company is expecting to make a footstep in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Thailand, Benin, Burkina Faso, Congo, Togo, Mauritius, Malaysia, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, Senegal and Ivory Coast during 2009-10 fiscal year.
Presently the company is doing business with Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Myanmar, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Macao, Jordan, Kenya, Guyana and the UK.
Besides meeting 97 per cent of the nearly Tk 5,000 crore domestic market demand, the industry exported Tk 300 crore worth of medicines in 2008.Bangladesh is currently exporting its generic drugs to some 67 countries. The export figure was Tk 200 crore and Tk 150 crore in 2007 and 2008 respectively. Experts believe the market to grow by nearly 15 per cent in 2009.