Evolution of the Pharmaceutical Industry Bangladesh, 1982 to 2020

Abstract

Most developing countries depend on imports for the supply of essential medicines. Many developing countries have been finding it extremely difficult to promote local production. But despite being a Least Developed Country (LDC), Bangladesh has succeeded in developing a pharmaceutical industry. The rise of the pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh is attributed to the Drug Ordinance of 1982. This created a market for the local firms for simple generic formulations which were earlier imported or manufactured by the foreign firms. Local firms grabbed the opportunity and dramatic growth of the industry led by local firms followed. But manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients was neglected. This did not constrain the growth initially with the availability of cheap supplies from India and then China. But this has emerged as a critical bottleneck today. Bangladesh, as an LDC abolished product patent protection in pharmaceuticals in 2008 and what the 1982 Ordinance did for generic products, the change in the patent regime has been doing for patented products. Bangladesh has introduced to the market a number of patented products at very low prices. This is a significant development. But the traditional sources of APIs, viz., India and China cannot officially export patented APIs to Bangladesh unless permitted to do so. Due to the difficulty of sourcing patented APIs, Bangladesh is unable to enjoy the full benefits of absence of product patent protection. Some steps have been initiated for the growth of the API sector. For the efforts to succeed, the government needs to be more directly involved in developing the technological base of the industry.