Life-saving drugs import disrupted

Staff Reporter :
Import of life-saving drugs and medical equipment is severely disrupted due to the LC opening crisis. As a result, the import of these essential drugs has decreased by 91 per cent in the first seven months of the current financial year (July-January).
Along with medicines, the import of raw materials, medical equipment and capital equipment for the pharmaceutical industry has also been reduced significantly.
According to the data from the Bangladesh Bank (BB), in the first 7 months (July-January) of the previous FY 2021-22, drug import LC was opened valued nearly USD 536.49 million. On the other hand, in the first 7 months (July-January) of the current FY 2022-23 drug import LC was opened valued USD 45.23 million.
The LC settlement cases were also reduced by 90.89 per cent where in the first seven months of the last financial year, LCs settlement of drugs was USD 547 million. During the same period of the current FY, only USD 49.82 million’s LC was settled for import of medicines.
From July to January of this FY,the LC opening for importing raw materials also decreased by 21.34 per cent while the LC settlement reduced by 9.48 per cent compared to the same period of the previous financial year.
However, the new LCs opened for importing medical machinery has decreased by 40.29 per cent. Same, in the first 7 months of the last financial year LC opened for importing medical machinery was totaled USD 120.73 million, but in the current financial year it has decreased to only 72 million USD
along with the LC settlement for importing medical machinery and equipment reduced by 31 per cent, the data revealed.
Because of the supply shortage of imported medicine and raw materials, the medicine market gradually becoming unstable due to the price hike.
Shagor Saha, a medicine retailer from capital’s Mitford hospital area, said that, there is a huge supply shortfall of imported medicine. As a result, the price of the imported medicine has increased by nearly 50 per cent in last three months.
Apart from this, some of the medicine produced in Bangladesh after importing raw materials from abroad also facing scarce along with increased price, he added.
 It is alleged, many medicines are being sold for double their retail price in the black market.
As medical devices facing supply shortage, Cardiac surgery has fallen to about 20 per cent of what it used to be, as life-saving medical devices cannot be imported according to demand which increases the risk of death of those suffering from heart disease.
According to the sources of National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, there are four private organisations that supply oxygenators and valves in the country.
On an average this hospital requires about 150 valves per month. The supply has fallen to around 50 over the past four months. And the demand for oxygenators is three times higher than that of valves, but there is not enough supply, the source said.
Dr.A.M.Shamim, MD of a private hospital also a related person with pharma industry said that, ‘we are now depending on locally produced medicine of cancer, heart disease, kidney diseases which used to be imported.”
Earlier, where one could open an LC for USD 10 million, now he can open an LC for 2 million dollars.Currently, only a few banks have the ability to open LC. This crisis started on June last year and if this situation continues, the crisis will further intensify in upcoming months, he added.