Bangladesh on the right track to becoming a $6b pharma industry by 2025

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The pharmaceutical market of Bangladesh is likely to surpass $6 billion by 2025 with a complete growth of 114 percent from its 2019 levels, according to a written report from a Dublin-based industry insight and analysis firm, Research, and Markets.

"The pharmaceutical industry has been witnessing excellent growth recently, and it is likely to possess a compound total annual growth rate of more than 12 percent through the 2019-2025 period," said the statement titled "Bangladesh Pharmaceutical Marketplace Future Opportunity Outlook 2025".

According to the article, biotech pioneers of Bangladesh's pharmaceutical sector are considered as a very important tool for the entire improvement and efficacy of the marketplace.

Most the growth will be contributed by regional companies with a market share of more than 90 % as similar to previous trends attained during the last 2 decades, the report said.

In recent times, regional pharmaceutical companies have emerged as a game-changer by contributing a lot more than 90 percent of the entire available medicines in the market.

Industry players estimate that the local marketplace size of the sector was about Tk 25,000 crore ($3 billion) in 2019. In 2012, it stood at about Tk 9,390 and in 2017 it hit Tk 18,755.6 crore, in line with the IMS HEALTHCARE Report.

The pharmaceutical industry, successful of the global industry through dynamism and technology, experienced tremendous growth within the last decade and currently contributes 1.83 percent to the country's gross household merchandise (GDP), according to sector people.

Local pharmaceutical makers, even so, have immense potential in the healthcare sector, as Bangladeshis spend around $2.04 billion abroad annually for medical treatment, which is 1.94 percent of the country's GDP, according to a market examination by the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida).

The requirement for healthcare services keeps growing at about 21 % annually thanks to the increasing purchasing power of the growing middle and upper-middle classes, the Bida said.

The notable change that attracted the world towards Bangladesh is a resulting consequence of innovation in the science and research and production sector, the Research and Marketplaces said in its report.

Rise in life span, growing per capita cash flow, changing disease profile, population expansion, lifestyle changes, and increasing patient population are some of the key drivers that are actually boosting consumption in the neighborhood market, it said.

In the upcoming years, the federal government of Bangladesh will enjoy a significant role in the rapid growth of the pharmaceutical market by providing favorable policies for fairly simple drug approval, creation, and marketing of new products, the Irish strong expects.

The government is focusing on reducing the country's reliance on the import of recyclables. The establishment of an API Park will become a turning level for this purpose.

The most notable 50 companies are setting up their facilities at the Active Pharmaceuticals Ingredient Industrial Park in Munshiganj that will assist in the production of patented and already opened active pharmaceuticals ingredients.

It is expected that the creation of the API Park can be complete by the next two years, which may reduce the expenditure related to the import of raw materials.

The report said the share of generic drugs is likely to surpass 85 percent by 2025, which will further fortify the dominance of local pharmaceutical companies on the market.

"The capacities of native companies are improving, and they are expanding their conveniences and investing in research and expansion, which can only help the sector grow," said SM Shafiuzzaman, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI), a platform around 250 local drug-markers.

He likewise said the option of the workforce is as well an essential point for the sector to flourish.

There is absolutely no difference in quality between original products and the generic products made in Bangladesh, he said. "Bangladeshi pharmaceutical items have definitely maintained global standards."

"The product quality and global photo of Bangladesh's medicines happen to be much better than the generics stated in India and Egypt," said Monjurul Alam, Beacon's director for global business.

"Since our labor cost and utilities happen to be cheaper than in lots of countries, our goods are more affordable in comparison to other medicine production nations."

The general persons of Bangladesh is now able to afford medicines as their purchasing power has increased four times within the last twenty years, he said.

"Moreover, people are well alert to diseases now. Chronic diseases are increasing, which needs a frequent intake of medicines. Each one of these has triggered the domestic market to boom."

Moreover, local corporations are investing and growing dedicated conveniences for specialized drugs for treating diseases such as for example cancer, he said.

"At least 10 to 15 facilities are making goods of international standards. We are now working on making APIs. If we are able to start the API creation, we can offer more advanced drugs at a more affordable price."

The pharmaceutical industry has managed to grow its exports in today's fiscal on the trunk of steady demand for medicine amid the coronavirus-induced monetary and health crises, which have decimated other important export sectors.

"Pharmaceutical products are crucial for all countries. That is why the industry's exports didn't decline amid the Covid-19 outbreak. Rather, it rose."

Pharmaceutical shipments soared 4.49 % year-on-year to $136 million in fiscal 2019-20 following improvements in product quality and insurance policy support.

The industry is among the couple of sectors that ended the fiscal year in the black when nationwide exports fell 16.93 percent.

The sector fetched $130 million in export earnings in fiscal 2018-19 and $103.46 million in fiscal 2017-18.

"As a least developed region, Bangladesh doesn't need to follow the patent, so that it is simple to formulate any generic medicine locally," explained Ananta Saha, international business manager of Renata.

He said the population of Bangladesh is large, which is among the main known reasons for the neighborhood pharmaceutical industry's rapid progress.

Relating to the export forecast, he said it would be achievable since it is easy to export pharma items from a great LDC to another.

The efficiency of the neighborhood companies is improving, plus they are expanding their making facilities, said Muhammad Halimuzzaman, deputy controlling director and CEO of Healthcare Pharmaceuticals.

Rabbur Reza, chief operating officer of the business, believes Bangladesh would be able to reach the export aim for 2025 if the local sector is growing at the current rate.

Even so, he said Bangladesh has to wait until June next year to determine the pharmaceutical industry's accurate development rate, which will indicate if the industry should be able to reach the $6 billion target by 2025.

The economical growth of the united states is helping the sector grow faster, he said.

The rising purchasing power of the persons and awareness about the treatment is working as a traveling force for the sector, he added. 
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net

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