Country's pharma sector is going to step into a new phase of drug manufacturing to produce Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) to consolidate its position in the local and overseas medicine markets.
Healthcare, Acme, UniHealth and Ibn Sina have already started setting up factories in Munshiganj's Gazaria API Park to produce raw ingredients that will help cut dependence on import of APIs for key raw materials for medicines, sources said.
A dozen more companies, including Square, Beximco, and Opsonin, have also completed initial preparation for setting up of factories to produce APIs locally.
"We're hopeful that some of these companies would be able to go for APIs production from the beginning of next year," said an official of API Industrial Park Project.
According to the API Industrial Park Project authorities, 27 companies have so far taken allotment of plots with an expected investment of Tk 3,000 crore.
"Healthcare and Acme have made considerable progress on setting up of their API facilities and they are hopeful about starting production in 2022," the official said, adding that the production of API by the local pharma would help keep this booming business worth Tk27, 000 crore sector on track in future.
At present, local companies can produce only 3 per cent of the total demand for central ingredients of drugs and import the remaining 97 per cent from various countries. Gonoshasthyo Kendra has been APIs for its own drug manufacturing since a long time.
APIs are the main components of medicines. Inventors of such ingredients usually patent them to retain intellectual property rights. Any drug manufacturer that wants to produce medicines using that API must pay a royalty fee to the inventor.
Sources said the government has also plans to offer tax holiday facility for setting up of raw materials producing factories in the API Park. Such type of tax holiday is usually given for 10 to 20 years. Formulation of a National Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) policy is now also at the final stage and such tax relief will be considered as per the policy, sources added.
"Our income tax arm has recently taken several steps regarding giving tax holiday facility for setting up API producing industry. The government has a target of achieving self-sufficiency in producing 360 important drug producing raw materials," said a source of National Board of Revenue (NBR).
Under tax holiday facility, the producers of raw materials in the pharmaceutical industry are likely to enjoy 100 percent corporate tax exemption and other tax benefits, said the sources.
The government is setting up an API industrial park in Munshiganj to cut reliance on foreign markets and save foreign currency.
Construction work of the park is progressing fast and it is expected to be ready by 2022. It is being developed on 200 acres of land in the adjoining Dhaka-Chattogram Highway under Gazaria upazila at the cost of Tk 330 crore.
Presently, the country's pharmaceutical industry meets 98 percent of the domestic demand. Bangladeshi medicines are being exported to more than 160 countries across the world.
Medicine export is on rising amid Covid-19 as country’s drug makers exported a record $169 million worth of medicines in the just concluded fiscal year 2021-22.
Bangladesh exported medicines worth $135.79 million in 2019-20, $130 million in 2018-19, and $103.5 million in 2017-18, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
In the last three years, drug makers received approval from the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) for exporting 1,200 types of medicines.
The allopathic medicine manufacturers produce 24,000 types of medicines and medicinal raw materials annually, according to the DGDA.
Some Bangladeshi companies have already left footprints in the US and the UK markets and around 1,000 products are going to be registered in the international market for subsequent export, which will unlock huge potential for drug makers.
At present, Sri Lanka is the number one destination for exported pharmaceutical products from Bangladesh as the island nation imports an equivalent of $20.5 million worth of pharmaceutical 'finished goods' from Bangladesh.
Myanmar imports a total $435 million worth of pharmaceutical goods every year.
About 11 per cent of total pharmaceutical export earnings of Bangladesh come from the USA, which is 15.19 million in US dollars.
