Pharma exports may soar to $5b by 2027: Salman F Rahman

The pharmaceutical sector of the country has the potential to raise export earnings to $5 billion annually in the next five years, from the existing $200 million, said Salman F Rahman, private industry and investment adviser to the prime minister.

He recommended prioritising the production of biologic drugs alongside general medicines to reach the target.

Salman, who is also the vice chairman of Beximco Group which owns Beximco Pharmaceuticals, made the remarks during a seminar on the pharmaceutical sector at Motijheel of the capital organised by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) on Saturday.

Speakers on the occasion corroborated his statement saying the sector can flourish like the ready-made garment industry, the largest export earning sector of the country.

As a least developed country, Bangladesh is currently enjoying a relaxed patent condition under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). 

The privilege is expected to end in 2026 when Bangladesh is set to graduate into a middle-income country. Without an extension of TRIPS for the pharmaceutical sector, the government will have to withdraw its control over medicine imports, which will make the market more challenging for small manufacturers.  

Besides, companies will have to buy patents from a drug's parent company to produce a generic version, which will ultimately increase the cost of production.

In order to avoid the looming hurdles, experts at the seminar suggested that companies begin producing raw materials for making medicines or active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) locally. Building an API industrial park in Munshiganj to this end has been in talks for decades but so far there has been little progress.  

Speakers also suggested that attempts should be made to retain the TRIPS terms till 2033 through the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In addition, the sector should be given more facilities like the RMG sector, update relevant laws, etc.

Presenting the keynote paper at the event, Professor Dr Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), suggested that pharmaceutical companies focus on strong research, upskill human resources, and explore opportunities for setting up joint ventures and encourage contract manufacturing.

The API Park having the facility of CETP should be operationalised as early as possible, he recommended.

"Bangladesh should take advantage of a compulsory licensing provision of the TRIPS agreement by bringing in required changes in the patent laws and drug policies," said Mustafizur Rahman.

He also said the size of the global pharmaceutical market in 2021 was $825 billion. If Bangladesh can take even 5% of this, the country will have another sector like the RMG.

At present, Bangladesh's pharmaceutical sector meets 97% of the domestic demand worth about $3.5 billion. In FY22, the country exported pharma products worth $189 million. It ranked 67th in the global pharma export market last year.

But in terms of API, Bangladesh is heavily import-dependent. In FY21, the country's API import amounted to $1050.1 million while the global API market is $200 billion.

Meanwhile, Dhaka Chamber President Rizwan Rahman said "After the LDC graduation, Bangladesh will face a higher tariff regime ranging from 8%-15% in the export market which may decline export earnings by 14.28% equivalent to $5.73 billion."

Also, he said, "Our IP exemption benefit will be reduced till 2026 having no import restrictions."

"The pharmaceutical sector may be affected by the loss of IP waiver resulting in a decline of generic and patented drugs production and export share," he said, adding that the private sector should be equipped and incentivised on IP adoption for business development.

Among others, AHM Shafiquzzaman, director general of the Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection, M Mosaddek Hossain, managing director of UniMed UniHealth Pharmaceuticals, and Professor ABM Faroque, director of Biomedical Research Centre, University of Dhaka also spoke on the occasion.