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PHARMA INDUSTRY

Contract manufacturing, skilled manpower key to sustainability

Kamrul Hasan
07 Mar 2023 00:00:00 | Update: 07 Mar 2023 00:17:43
Contract manufacturing, skilled manpower key to sustainability
The pharma industry grew by 12 per cent last year and 1,500 drugs have been registered worldwide– Courtesy Photo

Asia Pharma Expo in Dhaka was getting momentum after the pandemic as the exhibitors smiled broadly at the end of the exposition, expressing the hope that the country’s pharmaceuticals industry would flourish in near future.

They, however, shared their views at a time when the industry was hit hard by high costs of freight, energy and raw materials as well as dollar crunch.

Industry insiders said contract manufacturing could be an imperative for sustaining the growth of local industry while others focused on creating skilled manpower for the sector and making easy-to-go policies or decisions for the industry so that they could face off the changing situation.

While speaking at the inaugural session, Abdul Muktadir, chairman and managing director of Incepta Pharmaceuticals Limited and also vice-president of Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI), mentioned that as crisis has been prevailing in the pharma sector in different countries, including developed ones in Europe, Bangladesh can grab this opportunity.

In reply to a question on that day, the organisation’s president Nazmul Hassan Papon said that the pharma industry grew by 12-15 per cent last year and 1,500 medicines have been registered worldwide. “We hope that drug exports would increase significantly in the coming years.”

One of the co-organisers, Paresh Jhurmarvala, founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GPE Expo Pvt Ltd in India, said how it can be possible while discussing the futures of the local industry and actions are needed to ensure the sustainability during the post-LDC era.

He said that local drug producers in the country are shifting their objectivity focusing on exports of quality products. “So, the locals would also get quality medicines. The country needs to give registration of more products so that they can be registered in other countries before the graduation takes place.”

If these medicines get registered, he said, although the registration process is very complex and difficult, it will facilitate the medicines to be listed in foreign countries. “If a product could get registered in any country of Africa, it can be exported to other African countries under ‘One Africa’ initiative and campaign. This could be similarly applicable for the golf countries as well.”

Once they are registered, the buyers will purchase medicines from renowned pharmaceuticals companies like Beximco, Incepta, Beacon and many others of the country, he opined from his experience as the company has been working with Bangladesh’s apex body of pharma industry for last 20 years.

Presently, developed countries are facing crisis as labour is highly expensive there while Bangladesh can reap the benefits with ensuring more and more contract manufacturing for the companies in developed countries.

“It will provide two-way benefits, a no risk business approach and also no worry with patent issues after LDC graduation. At a time when the country is going to graduate from the LDC status, contract manufacturing is the best way before getting fully prepared for the days like the pharma industry of India is doing,” Paresh Jhurmarvala said.

According to the industry insiders, they have adopted contract manufacturing under the toll manufacturing concept over one and a half decades back and a good number of companies are ensuring the contract.

Ingo H Kusel, area sales manager of German company Gebietsverkaufsleiter, said that Bangladesh does not have enough natural resources but they have huge manpower and for the sustainable growth of the sector they need skilled manpower.

“You are importing quality machineries but if you don’t have skilled manpower to manage and control them, it will hamper your progress,” he said.

Isa Khan, associate director of Saka International, a pharma machinery distributor and service providing company, told the Business Post that they received good response from the visitors as they did not end their tasks after providing the machinery, rather they ensured global-standard services with their engineering team as well.

“In our experiences, I can say that local pharma companies also prefer local service companies if they have skilled manpower,” he added.

Harald Kaufmann, Area sales manager (sales pharma solid) of German company Syntegon Technology GMBH, however, pointed on the financial crisis worldwide and said that fewer companies like Beximco and Incepta have the capacity of overcoming the financial crisis and so in this situation, the government should have some flexible policies prioritising the sector so that it can cope with the changing situation accordingly without any disruptions in the developments.

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