Eskayef Oncology manufacturing facility gets EU GMP approval

The oncology manufacturing facility of Eskayef Pharmaceuticals, one of the finest medicine manufacturing companies in Bangladesh, has obtained the approval of European Union Good Manufacturing Practice (EU GMP) for maintaining its standard in production of oncology drugs.

As a result, the people of Bangladesh can now get world class medicines in the country to treatment cancer patients.

Eskayef Pharmaceuticals is the first ever Bangladeshi company to get the approval of EU GMP, a highly prestigious standard that a medicines manufacturer must meet in their production processes. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) coordinates inspections to verify compliance with these standards. All the 27 member states of European Union (EU) acknowledge the EU GMP certificate. A very few Asian pharmaceutical companies could avail the approval so far.

This approval has huge global influence and is regarded as a ‘passport’ to enter the global market.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Eskayef managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) Simeen Rahman said, “There’s a huge fear among people about cancer. Many people lose their will to live when they learn they are cancer patients. But detection of cancer does not mean the end of life. It has treatment. It is possible to be cured through proper treatment.”

She said, “In most of the cases, cancer treatment is expensive. Family sometimes becomes destitute treating a cancer patient. That’s why we always wanted to ensure world class treatment for cancer patients in Bangladesh.”

The oncology unit of Eskayef Pharmaceuticals is situated at Rupganj, Narayanganj. Both the injection and oral medicines of SKF have the EU GMP approval. This suggests Eskayef could maintain the European standard in commercial production and standard maintenance of oncology medicines.

The company hopes this approval will help it export Eskayef oncology medicines to other countries around the globe.

Simeen Rahman said, “Eskayef Oncology has always been working to manufacture cancer medicine. We believe cancer can be prevented if it is treated with world class medicines at the right time. We are pledge-bound to supply world class cancer medicines in the country at a reasonable price. We have some highly regarded oncology and hematology experts. We’re also working to bring latest medicines to Bangladesh to treat the cancer patients.”

Physicians said Eskayef Pharmaceutical’s approval from EU GMP is a matter of prestige for Bangladesh.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICRH) director professor Qazi Mushtaq Hussain said it is indeed a matter of honour for Bangladesh as a local company has won this acknowledgement for manufacturing cancer drugs. This will dispel all the doubts, if there is any, about our quality of medicines and treatment. This is comforting for the people and medical treatment.”

The state-of-the-art oncology manufacturing facility of Eskayef Pharmaceuticals was opened in 2018 with the technical help of Europe-based Telstar Life Science Solutions, t.

Head of radiotherapy and oncology department at Dhaka Medical College Hospital professor Swapan Bandopadhyay told Prothom Alo, “This is wonderful news for the people of Bangladesh and oncology physicians. People get the best results from this kind of success.”

He further said they (SKF) won the approval because of maintaining their standard. This is a huge achievement. This EU GMP approval will create confidence of the physicians and the people.

Head of oncology department at Delta Medical College in the capital professor Kazi Manzur Kader said this is huge advancement for the country’s medicine manufacturing industry.

He said, “We import most of the cancer medicines. This is wonderful news for the patients that quality cancer medicines are now being manufactured at home.”

Eskayef authorities said Eskayef Oncology is the first in Bangladesh to use isolator technology to ensure safety of the medicine at its every step of production. The company imports quality raw materials from the European countries.

Eskayef Oncology has 31 help centres across the country from where the patients and their relatives can get any information on medicines and of other importance.

Eskayef Oncology is currently manufacturing medicines of various types of cancer including breast cancer, blood cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, renal cancer, hepatocellular cancer and head-neck cancer.