[🇧🇩] Pharmaceutical and Chemical Industry in Bangladesh

[Saif]

PM urges faster registration of patented drugs

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman yesterday urged local pharmaceutical manufacturers to speed up the registration of patented medicines so they can be produced domestically.

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PM urges faster registration of patented drugs

Star Business Report

Abdul Muktadir (centre), president of Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries, spoke to journalists after a meeting with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Secretariat in Dhaka yesterday. Photo: Star

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman yesterday urged local pharmaceutical manufacturers to speed up the registration of patented medicines so they can be produced domestically.

The prime minister wants these medicines to be made locally rather than imported, making them more affordable and accessible for consumers, said Abdul Muktadir, president of the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI), after a meeting with the premier at the Secretariat.

The meeting focused on the future growth of the pharmaceutical sector and the government’s commitments to the industry.

Muktadir, who led a delegation of industry representatives, said the registration of patented medicines had been stalled for the past two years.

Bangladesh is set to graduate from the least developed country (LDC) category later this year. After graduation, the World Trade Organization’s TRIPS waiver for Bangladeshi drugmakers will expire. In the post-LDC era, local pharmaceuticals will have to pay royalties on patented medicines, which may increase the cost of life-saving drugs and place an additional burden on consumers.

Muktadir said the prime minister also urged manufacturers to strengthen the pharmaceutical sector to help it navigate the challenges of LDC graduation.

Bangladesh is scheduled to graduate on November 24 this year unless the United Nations approves a request from the government to defer it by three years until 2029.

According to the BAPI president, the premier listened carefully to the industry’s concerns and reaffirmed full government support to help the sector expand and supply quality medicines both at home and abroad.

He said the prime minister has pledged continued policy support, describing the sector as a highly promising export industry not only for medicines but also for vaccines, active pharmaceutical ingredients and biological products.

“We are expecting good days ahead for the medicine sector,” Muktadir added.

He said the government would also help remove barriers to medicine exports. “The prime minister assured that the government will extend full support to struggling production units so they can perform well and contribute to quality medicine for both local markets and exports, as Bangladesh now supplies drugs to 140 countries after meeting domestic demand.”

Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd Managing Director Tapan Chowdhury said patented medicines could become more expensive in the domestic market once manufacturers are required to pay royalties after the TRIPS waiver expires.

He added that the premier advised drugmakers to complete the registration of new medicines more quickly, as the process usually takes a long time.

Simeen Rahman, CEO of Transcom Group, M Mosaddek Hossain, senior vice-president of BAPI, and Muhammad Halimuzzaman, secretary-general of the organisation, were also present at the meeting.​

 

[Saif]

Govt to withdraw import duty on 51 active pharmaceutical ingredients

The government has proposed the complete withdrawal of import duty on 51 new raw materials used in the manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to make medicines more affordable for consumers in the domestic marke

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Govt to withdraw import duty on 51 active pharmaceutical ingredients

Refayet Ullah Mirdha

The government has proposed the complete withdrawal of import duty on 51 new raw materials used in the manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to make medicines more affordable for consumers in the domestic market.

Moreover, to make the domestic pharmaceutical industry more capable and self-reliant in producing affordable and economically viable anti-cancer medicines locally, the government has proposed amending the existing notification on concessional customs duty facilities by adding nine more raw materials for import.

The import duty and VAT on these materials will be reduced to zero, the finance minister said in his budget proposal.

To sustain the growth of Bangladesh's pharmaceutical exports in the international market, he also proposed including 17 additional basic raw materials in the existing notification on concessional facilities and reducing the import duty on these materials to zero percent.

The government has been facilitating the pharmaceutical sector because local drug manufacturers will have to pay royalties to foreign companies for patent rights after the country's graduation from the group of least developed countries (LDCs) to a developing nation, which is scheduled for November this year.

There is a possibility that medicine prices in the domestic market will increase if manufacturers have to pay for patent rights to produce medicines.

Therefore, the government has been encouraging manufacturers to invest more in APIs so that they do not have to pay for patent rights acquired from foreign companies.

Bangladesh is scheduled to graduate from the LDC group to a developing nation this November, unless the transition period is extended.

The country will also lose the benefits it currently enjoys under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) framework.

The government will also maintain and strengthen policy support for the API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) industry in the areas of infrastructure, research and investment.

In the context of graduation from LDC status, the continued development of the pharmaceutical industry, enhancement of its innovation capacity, and strengthening of its position in the global market should be supported through necessary financial incentives and favourable policy measures.

A sustainable and modern global medicine and vaccine supply network should be established so that essential medicines and vaccines can be delivered to remote areas in a timely manner.​