Pharma industry wants to grab 10pc of global generic market

Staff Reporter :
The entrepreneurs of the country’s pharmaceutical industry are aiming at capturing 10 per cent of the global generic market as Bangladesh is becoming a major global hub for high quality and low cost generic medicines.
According to “Research and Markets,” an Ireland-based research company, “Bangladesh’s exports will increase $450 million by 2025, whereas the World generic market is around $400 billion, if Bangladesh can take 1 per cent of it, then the pharmaceuticals export will reach $4 billion.”
This is highly achievable considered by majority of experts and then, in next step if we can take 10 per cent of the share, it will be $40 billion per year, said the entrepreneurs at the closing day of the three-day long Bangladesh Business Summit on Monday.
It is not only the revenue but it gives security for the country which is over depended on RMG sector, they added.
There are visible competitive advantages for Bangladesh in global market place as the country has surplus human resources for the pharma industry and many of the companies have received regulatory approvals, which will make us a global supplier of medicines, they said.
Not many countries in the world have pharmaceuticals manufacturing capability like Bangladesh, they added.
Only China and India along with the Western economies have pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities and this creates an opportunity for Bangladesh to emerge as a hub for drugs in the global market, they said.
“None other than China and India and western world is as good as Bangladesh in pharmaceuticals. So, we have has tremendous opportunity here,” said Abdul Muktadir, Chairman and Managing Director of Incepta Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
He further said, “Bangladesh will have enough data to file application to become first time generic manufacturer of various patented molecules as soon as their patent expires,
in various developed countries.” China and India have big markets worth $220 billion and $40 billion respectively and they are growing, said Muktadir, also Senior Vice-President of Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI).
So, apart from meeting domestic requirements, both India and China may not be enough to meet such huge global demand, he said.
“Everyone is looking for an India Plus One, where Bangladesh has tremendous opportunity,” he said.
Besides, China is mainly into intermediates and chemical industry and in the scenario of current global geopolitical situation, supply from China may face constraint, he said.
So, Bangladesh can carter to all markets with Pure Generics, Branded Generics and API, he added.
Muktadir further said that seven to nine companies have already received approval from highly regulated authorities like MHRA, EU countries, US FDA and WHO PQ and the number will increase to 20 very soon.
New opportunities like API, Biosimilars, Vaccine, Oncology products, Medical Devices are already in place.
Diplomatic efforts should be started so that once API is available, we have a ready market, Muktadir said.
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) organised the three-day business summit at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital that ended yesterday.
The foreign and commerce ministries, and the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) partnered with the FBCCI for the summit.
Ministers from seven countries, including the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, China, Bhutan and the United Arab Emirates, CEOs of 12 multinational companies and more than 200 foreign investors and business leaders from 17 countries participated in mega event.