The state-owned pharmaceutical company, Essential Drugs Company Limited (EDCL), which was earlier plagued by irregularities, corruption, and mismanagement for a long time, has started to turn around.
The company had been causing losses of billions of taka in the past because of purchasing raw materials at high prices in a non-transparent process through syndicated tenders, unusable machinery, and excess manpower.
But today the landscape has changed dramatically in the past few months. The institution is now reporting relief after emerging from the depths of corruption.
The new Managing Director (MD) Samad Mridha took charge and made it clear that there would be no room for corruption and inefficient manpower in the organization any more.
After the reform process began under his leadership, EDCL has restored transparency in the tender process and reduced production costs by laying off unnecessary manpower, reducing materials costs, increasing production and reducing over time.
Earlier, the audit report for the 2019-20 fiscal year revealed a loss of about Tk 32 crore in EDCL due to ineffective equipment and failed projects alone.
EDCL has taken several steps to overcome this situation and restore its image.
EDCL's major achievement is reducing the prices of medicines. This is the first time in the company's history that the prices of medicines have been reduced and the prices of 33 medicines by up to 50 percent has been reduced recently.
The list of essential medicines to be reduced in price includes Omeprazole capsules for gastric ulcers, Ketorolac injections for pain, various antibiotics for pneumonia and bacterial infections (such as Ceftriaxone and Ceftazidime), and Montelukast tablets for asthma.
The prices of 22 out of 32 medicines listed for healthcare services, especially for rural populations, have been reduced, which will make medical services more accessible in rural health centers.
Managing Director Samad Mridha said that as part of the restructuring process, about 722 unnecessary and inefficient employees have been laid off. In addition, the process of laying off more than 1,000 more personnel is underway.
