Bangladesh 's first ever international pharmaceutical trade show and seminar, Asia Pharma Expo 2003, opened at the Bangladesh China Friendship Conference Centre at Dhaka on Sunday, February, 23. The three-day exhibition and conference was inaugurated by Dr. Khandekar Musharaff Hossain, Hon. Minister, Health and Family Welfare, Bangladesh.

Dr Hossian, while declaring the opening of the country's maiden pharmaceutical event, said that the government of Bangladesh has identified pharmaceutical industry as one the key growth sectors and there are many progressive schemes have been proposed to encourage faster development of this industry.

The Health minister said that the Prime Minister' office and his ministry are all set to take up the challenges ahead for ensuring the expected progress of the drug sector and also attaining adequate strength in the production of quality drugs locally. "This is a golden opportunity for the local industry to get in touch with the global players in the pharmaceutical and related industry segments, and it is ought to have very positive implications on the overall growth in the capabilities of the domestic industry," Dr Hossain said.

At the opening ceremony, Nazmul Hassan, secretary general, BAPI and director (marketing & commercial), Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited, made a key note presentation on the history and future prospects of the Bangladesh pharmaceutical industry. He said that the country's pharmaceutical industry has already been able to acquire the required strength to compete in the global market. However, it is still dependent on basic products like APIs and allied items. "In order to encourage pharma exports from Bangladesh, the industry needs to change the present state of mindset and should believe that we can exploit the export opportunities in the best possible way," He emphasized that for the expected growth, the industry should have a dedicated Cell for pharma exports, good research and development infrastructure and skill, bulk drug capability, incentives from government and good coordination with government authorities.

Shaffi Usaman, president, BAPI, welcomed the guests and delegates and Samson H Chowdhury, organizing secretary, APE, addressed the seminar along with Fazalu Rehman, secretary, ministry of health and family welfare, Amanulla Aman, state minister, ministry of health and family welfare, Barkutulla Bulu, state commerce minister.

Asia Pharma Expo 2003 organized by the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industry (BAPI) has international exhibitors mainly from India, China, Korea, Taiwan along with the local counterparts especially in the areas of pharmaceutical formulations, machineries, excipients and other related services.The first day seminar at the APE 2003, Indian speakers impressed the audience by presenting very thought provoking presentations on the most topical subjects like Patent Law for developing and under developed countries and new generation packaging technology, which evoked overwhelming response among the international delegates. While Dr Prabudh Ganguly, Advisor, Vision IPR, Mumbai- India made a presentation on Patents, Dr Parful Naik, president, Bilcare, Pune- India, spoke on latest packaging trends.