11th Asia Pharma Expo 2019 offered business networking for 12,800 trade professionals

The 3-day 11th Asia Pharma Expo 2019 (APE 2019) & ASIA LAB EXPO 2019 was held from January 31 to February 2, at ICCB, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Zahid Maleque, MP, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of People’s Republic of Bangladesh was the Chief Guest of the opening ceremony, along with Salman F Rahman, MP, Private Industry & Investment Adviser to the Prime Minister; Dr Md Murad Hasan, MP, State Minister, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare; Md Asadul Islam, Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and Major General Md Mustafizur Rahman, Director General, Directorate General of Drug Administration were the special guests.

The President of Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI), Nazmul Hasan, delivered the welcome address. He said that apart from exporting medicines to different countries, the main objective of BAPI is to provide medicines to the people with affordable prices.

The Exhibition was organised by GPE EXPO jointly with the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical industries since year 2003 at Dhaka, offering an unparalleled international trade platform to the entrepreneurs manufacturing and exporting the pharma engineering machineries and pharma bulk active chemicals to explore the business with the Bangladesh pharmaceutical industry.

Leading technology solution providers across the world exhibited to display updated manufacturing technologies — 216 from India, 56 from China, 45 from Germany, 30 from the USA and 21 exhibiting companies from the UK were major of the total exhibiting companies. Glatt India (Engineering), Shanghai Tofflon, ACG, Cadmach, Ulhmann, Gansons, Austar, GEA Process Engg, GMM Pfaudler, Bausch + Strobel, Robert Bosch, Packaging GmbH, Xylem Analytics Germany, Mediseal GmbH, Heino Ilsemann GmbH, GE Healthcare Lifesciences (Whatman), Charles River Laboratories, Godrej & Boyce Mfg Company, IMA-PG India, Ion Exchange (India), Kimberly – Clark Professional, Thermo Fisher Scientific, US Pharmacopeial, Convention, Russel Finex Sieves & Filters, British Pharmacopoiea, (MHRA), Borosil, Brothers Pharmamach (India), Bry-Air (Asia), CMC Machinery, Electrolab, Fabtech Technologies, Newtronic Lifecare Eqpts, Pharmalab, NPM Machinery, PALL India, Parle Global Technologies, Parle Elizabeth Tools, Perkin Elmer India, PG Foils, Fluidpack, Pharmapack India, Praj Hipurity Systems, Spectrum Pharmatech Consultants, Spraying Systems, SSP Packaging, SSPM Systems & Engineers, Svam Toyal Packaging Industries, were some of the exhibiting companies at Asia Pharma Expo 2019.

The EEPC INDIA (formally known as Engineering Export Promotion Council, set up by Ministry of Commerce, Govt of India) and FICCI put up the India pavilions at the exhibition. The exhibition is also supported by EEPC INDIA and FICCI.

A technology seminar was organised on Data Integrity & Data Reliability from pharma industry. A presentation was made by Govind S Pandey, USFDA and other regulatory audit experts.

The local pharma market of Bangladesh with more than 300 pharmaceutical companies with current exports worth USD 72+ million is anticipated to reach country’s pharma formulation exports USD 60 billion by 2021. Bangladesh has undoubtedly emerged as one of the fastest growing pharma economy in global markets, and the momentum of growth further accelerated by 17 years’ long extension till year 2033 by WTO/TRIPs to continue the patented pharma formulations. More than 47 units at API Manufacturing Park are coming up near Dhaka. The Bangladesh pharma industry now meets around 98 per cent of the local demand for medicines, which is a milestone in the history of pharmaceutical industry.

With APE 2019 – Asia Pharma Expo completed 17 years in Bangladesh pharmaceutical industry, and offering an unparalleled business platform for the entire spectrum of the pharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and solution providers networking with the comprehensively all the fraternity of pharma manufacturing plant professionals, along with the regulatory, research, academics, and local identifying partners. The focused industry segments were: pharmaceuticals, healthcare, biotech, API, neutraceuticals, cosmetics, beverages and distilleries.

At APE 2019, more than 650 exhibiting companies from 31 countries across the world exhibited their latest technologies to upgrade the pharma manufacturing standards of Bangladesh to a newer height. The three-day exhibition was attended by 12,800+ trade visitors to explore the complete spectrum of latest pharma manufacturing technologies and products on display, which include: processing machineries for formulation and API manufacturing, packaging machineries and materials, cleanroom and utility equipment and services, water traetment and management systems, analytical and biotech lab instruments, project consultants and turnkey contractors, and API, pharma bulk actives, excipients, additives and much more.