Drug-manufacturing raw material industry fails to take off

The industrial park for drug-making raw materials cannot be fully functional in over one and half decades. The land allocated for the park lay vacant. Although 95 per cent drugs are locally produced, the raw materials are almost fully import dependent.

Seventeen years ago, the government allocated land for an industrial park in Munshiganj’s Gazaria. However, only two pharmaceutical companies have begun production while two others have initiated preliminary work, and the land allocated for 23 companies still lies unused.

Drugs are composed of two main components: the primary ingredient, known as the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API), and the inactive ingredient, called an excipient.

For example, the API for Paracetamol is “para-acetylaminophenol,” which works in the body to alleviate ailments. Paracetamol tablets also contain substances like cellulose and talc, which function as excipients to give the API its tablet form and aid in its quick dissolution without causing any side effects.

Drug industry-related people said the local pharmaceutical companies import APIs worth at least Tk 100 billion. As Bangladesh is going to graduate from Least Developed Country (LDC) in 2026, the cost of API import would rise and so will the production cost of APIs. Bangladesh wasted a chance as both pharmaceutical companies and the government did not focus on the sector.

Bangladesh has achieved a lot in the drug industry. A total of 95 per cent of drugs used in the country is locally manufactured and only five per cent of the demand is met through import. Yet, 90 per cent raw materials are imported. Bangladeshi drug-making companies import mainly from China and India. Stakeholders said import of drug-making raw materials can be decreased if proper steps are taken.

Gonoshasthaya Pharmaceuticals started producing API in the country in 1988. The company’s first produced API was Amoxicillin, a penicillin antibiotic. Gonoshasthaya Pharmaceuticals later manufactured two more APIs.

Some small and large pharmaceutical companies later manufactured some APIs. But the drug companies did not get enough policy support and financial incentive needed as a leg-up.

The Bangladesh API and Intermediaries Manufacturers Association (BAIMA) said Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies manufactured over 40 APIs in the last eight years.

Some companies manufacture APIs as raw material for their own production while some other companies produce APIs to sell to other companies. If the local companies get financial security and incentive, 30 to 40 per cent of required APIs can be locally manufactured.

BIMA president SM Saifur Rahman told Prothom Alo, “India, China, Singapore - all the countries have given protection to this industry and incentives to the traders. We also have to do that. At the same time, the process for testing samples and giving approval has to be made easier. The experience Bangladesh has in the medicine industries will help the country provide a solid foundation to this sector.”

The government in 2008 gave an allocation of 200 acres of land in Bausia area by Dhaka-Chattogram highway in Gazaria upazila of Munshiganj through the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) for setting up the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) industries. This is known as API Industrial Park.

The local BSCIC office said the land was divided into 42 plots and allocated among 27 pharmaceutical companies with some having several plots.

All the top pharmaceutical companies of the country have plots there.

A visit to the area on 11 February this year showed there is no sign of setting up the API industrial park. Most of the plots are full of bushes. Only four companies have set up their infrastructures.

Those are Healthcare Chemicals, Axis Pharmaceuticals, Unimed Health and Ibn Sina. Healthcare Chemicals and Axis Pharmaceuticals have built API plants while Unimed Health and Ibn Sina will construct their API plant there soon.

Ibn Sina’s senior manager and APL plant chief Md Shamsul Islam told Prothom Alo the traders have been facing three issues at the industrial park. It is essential to have electricity for 24-hour uninterruptedly for API Productions but there is power outage there; sometimes, the voltage is also low when there is electricity. Secondly, the park area does not have a gas supply. Thirdly, complexities with no objection certificate. An API plant needs 18-20 types of NOCs. But we need to go to different offices for months just for one NOC.

Officials of another company reiterated this. That is why though many companies have taken plots there, they are not encouraged to set up factories there.

A factory needs at least three years to start production after starting its operation.

Noted medicine scientist and special assistant to the chief advisor of the interim government, Professor Md Sayedur Rahman told Prothom Alo, “The incumbent government has been giving emphasis to achieving self-sufficiency in all the possible sectors. It has prioritised slashing dependency on others. There is no alternative to producing API within the country to curtail dependency on others in the medicine sector. We will give importance to producing APIs for essential medicines. For this we shall provide necessary protection and incentives to this sector.”