Bangladesh exports drugs to 127 countries: Health Minister

Bangladesh’s burgeoning drug industry, after meeting local demand, is exporting drugs and raw materials to 127 countries, the health minister has said.

Mohammed Nasim, replying to questions tabled at the Parliament by MPs on Tuesday, said 98 percent of the Bangladesh’s local demand is being met by Bangladesh’s own pharmaceutical companies.

He also presented the details of number of factories who produce different types of drugs, including alternative medicines and government measures to stop erratic factories.

As a Least Developed Country (LDC), Bangladesh is able to make generic drugs without any intellectual property rights conflicts until 2033.

The export earning, around Tk 4 billion, has been increased in recent years with the penetration of costly, regulated markets of the United States and in the Europe.

The health minister, replying the question from MP Lutfa Taher, said the government had suspended licenses of 86 manufacturers temporarily while 19 other have been suspended permanently for violating the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines.

In addition, he said, last year the government also cancelled registration of 61 products and temporarily halted production of 14 others.

Legal proceedings have been started against those owners, he said.

Replying to a question of MP Israfil Alam, the health minister said, currently 851 factories are functioning in Bangladesh for the production of medicines.

Of them, 266 are producing allopathic drugs, 26 are producing Unani medicine, 207 Ayurvedic, 79 homeopathic and 32 herbal medicines.

The number of allopathic brands available in Bangladesh market is 26,910, he said, replying to a question from MP Abdul Latif.