Profile of Pharmaceutical Sector in Bangladesh:

Introduction:
Pharmaceuticals industry is the core of healthcare sector of Bangladesh. Being part of healthcare
sector, its performance is related to demographic variables like population growth as well as
economic growth and healthcare policy. In our country, with improving demographic
characteristics, recent economic growth and favorable policy, the industry has seen good growth.
It is one of Bangladeshs success stories and one of the most technologically advanced sectors
currently in existence. This industry is matter of substantial pride to the country. Skillful
attitudes, knowledge and innovative ideas from the professionals are the key reasons why this
industry grew in the way it did.

A brief history
The history of Pharmaceuticals industry dates back to 1950s. Over the years, the industry has
gone through some significant changes. In the early post-independence period of Bangladesh,
multinational companies (MNCs) dominated the pharmaceutical sector. Eight leading
multinational companies enjoyed 75% of the total domestic market (Bangladesh Tariff
Commission 2010). In 1982, a defined guideline for the development of the industry was created
through the formulation of national drug policy (NDP), and drug control ordinance. Under the
NDP, only local companies were allowed to produce vitamins, enzymes, and cough syrups. This
led to the formation of local pharmaceuticals companies and an increase in domestic production.
And Bangladesh, which was once a drug-importing country, became a drug-exporting country by
the late 80s.

Current Status:
Local Market Overview
The Bangladesh pharmaceutical marketplace is predominantly a branded generic marketplace.
Pharmaceutical firms in Bangladesh can either sell to the private sector pharmacies, to the
government and its public health care facilities, or to international organizations operating in
Bangladesh (e.g. UNICEF).

Bangladesh pharmaceutical industry is mainly dominated by domestic manufacturers. Of the

total pharmaceutical market of Bangladesh, the local companies are enjoying a market share
reaching around 97%, while the MNCs are having a poor market share. The top two domestic
manufacturers, namely Square and Incepta Pharma are having a combined market share of near
30% of the total pharmaceutical market of the country. Bangladesh Association of
Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI) was instituted in 1972, since then BAPI playing a pivotal role
in shaping up the industry.

Number of Firms:
About 300 pharmaceutical companies are operating at the moment. Only 3% of the drugs are
imported, the remaining 97% come from local companies. Positive developments in the
pharmaceutical sector have enabled Bangladesh to export medicine to global markets. By
overcoming the underlying obstacles this sector can develop more and can be an effective
exporting sector of Bangladesh

Industry Structure
The industry has some distinct features compared to other countries. First, R&D activity is
virtually nil in Bangladesh pharmaceutical industry it is a branded generic market. Companies
basically manufacture finished formulation by assembling known generic and patented (in some
cases) product combination. Some firms have been engaged in producing APIs, the core of
pharmaceutical products, but these productions are limited to synthesis stage (final stage) only.
Degree of concentration

Being Branded-generic product oriented business, manufacturers usually are able to

charge a premium for established brands, and enjoy a relatively stable market share. As a result,
the lists of top performing firms have been quite consistent over the years, with the leader,
Square pharmaceuticals topping since 1985.
Segmentation

The overall business activities of pharmaceuticals can be classified in three layers.

The primary layer is R&D Activities. This is often a very costly and hish risk business,
and for many of global Pharmaceutical firms, represent the majority of costs. However, in
Bangladesh, this activity is nil, and all the firms are producers of known and established drugs.
The second layer is manufacture of ingredients for finished formulations. These
activities cover production of Active Pharmaceuticals Ingredients (API), Excipients, and
Solvents etc. that are used as raw material in producing the final drug formulations. Historically,
Bangladesh has been dependent on imports for APIs and other ingredients. The pharmaceutical
manufacturers in Bangladesh procure raw materials from various countries namely UK, France,
Germany, Japan, Holland, Italy, Denmark, China, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, India, Ireland
etc.
In Bangladesh, companies have only recently entered API business. At present, there are
21 companies in Bangladesh manufacturing 41 APIs. Industry participants claim already
becoming self-sufficient in some APIs, namely, Penicillin, Cephalexin, NSAID and Anti-Pyretic.
The production of APIs is confined to the last stage of Synthesis. Presently, Local APIs take a
20% share in domestic production. The rest 80% is imported. These imported APIs represent
majority of raw materials import by Bangladesh, approximately 70%. But the overall production is
very low compared to total demand.

The final layer concerns producing final products, finished formulations. In this layer,
there are both patented and generic products. However, in Bangladesh, only generic products are
produced. Formulations represent the mainstream business in pharmaceuticals industry of
Bangladesh. Presently, the market consists of approximately 8000 generic products and 258
firms with manufacturing capability, along with some imported patented products. (Source:IDLC
Research)

Industry structure based on business nature:

1. High-End products (Anti Cancer, Insulin, Vaccines etc.)
These are essentially products specific to market niches, i.e. Anti cancer, Diabatic
products, Vaccines etc. these products are usually high priced and represent a small portion of
the market. Profit margin in such products is very high. Recently, domestic firms have been
entering into this field, and competition is expected to drive prices and import dependency down.

2. Branded generics (Anti-Gastric, Anti-Biotic etc.)

This represents broadest segment of the market, comprising products with relatively
stable margin and Brand orientation. This segment is dominated by local manufacturers, and due
to high brand loyalty observed in our market, market share of manufacturers is usually moves
rarely.
3. Low End generics
This segment is small, often for products with low branding possibility, and price war is
most evident here. The number of competitors is very high, and market share of each competitor
depends on success of marketing strategy.
4. Contract manufacturing (domestic and export)
Locally, this segment is small as almost every firm manufactures its own products. The
business usually comes from Health organizations like SMC (Social Marketing Company),
UNICEF etc. to provide products such as saline, contraceptives etc.
Presently, a number of top firms engage in contract manufacturing. Competition is very
low, as each firm engages based on foreign counterpart relations. Manufacturing technologies
and accreditations play a vital role in developing contract manufacturing capability.

Regulatory environment
The industry is regulated by Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA)
Pricing:

Under the present regulatory structure, government fixes the maximum retail prices (MRP) of
209 essential drug chemical substances. Other drugs, listed as non-essential, are priced through
an indicative price system. For imported finished products, whether they fall in the category of
vital or non-vital drugs, a fixed percentage of markups are applied to the C&F price to obtain the
MRP. For local distribution, all drugs must be registered with DRA. However, this price
determination is only for the local producer companies and still now the multinational
organizations are determining. (SOURCE: National Drug policy 2004) Prices of Bangladeshi
generics are amongst the lowest in the world (Forbes Asia, 2013).

Key registration areas:

Combination drugs (other than vitamins, nutritional preparations or therapeutically

useful) are not allowed

For imported drugs, GMP validation, bioavailability and bio-equivalency are important
registration criteria

Drug Production regulations:

Firms are required to upgrade their productive facilities to ensure cGMP is followed.

Foreign and MNCs are allowed to manufacture drugs in Bangladesh only if at least three
of their original research drug products are registered in at least two of the following
countries: USA, UK, Switzerland, Germany, France, Japan, and Australia.

Drugs not in BP, USP, IP, INN or BPC will not be allowed to manufacture.

Foreign firms can produce drugs in Bangladesh under licensing agreement following
certain conditions.

For export purpose only, any drug can be produced in Bangladesh

Drug distribution, storage and sale:

Only registered drugs are allowed for sale

Other than OTC drugs, no drugs should be sold without prescriptions.

Advertisements are not allowed

Occupational Structure in Pharmaceutical Sector:

The local pharmaceutical industry is also the highest white collar employment sector in the
country, giving employment to millions of trained professionals. Around 115,000 workers are
employed in this sector, of which 58.6 percent work in management and 41.4 percent work in
production. Only 2.1 percent of the total work force in this industry is female

Four broad groups are particularly noteworthy.

1. There are significant numbers of operatives mainly in formulating and tableting, and in
packaging and filling.

2. There are significant numbers in technician and similar roles, particularly in large
companies.
3. There are significant numbers of chemists and pharmacists, particularly in the large and
the medium company, reflecting the fact that a range of types of high level work are done
by these professions.
4. There are very large numbers of sales and (in the case of the small company) marketing
workers. This reflects mainly the emphasis on direct sales to retail pharmacies in
Bangladesh.

Occupational Structure of Pharmaceutical Firms

Export of Pharmaceuticals
Bangladesh is exporting their pharmaceuticals products to Vietnam, Singapore, Myanmar,
Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Yemen, Oman, Thailand, and some countries of Central
Asia and Africa. It also has a large market in European countries.

Market share in exporting:

In Bangladesh, there are about 50 pharmaceuticals companies, who are leading the local market.
But all of them are not engaged in exporting. Novartis is leader in export marketing. Though
Novartis is a foreign organization and they remit their profit to their parent country, they are
paying different types of tariffs and taxes to the government of Bangladesh
Export Policy

The pharmaceutical sector as a highest priority sector in Bangladesh is entitled to income tax
exemption for export earnings, export credit at reduced rates, assistance in marketing in overseas
market through participating in export fairs, and so on. In addition, the government reduced or
exempted duties on some capital machinery and raw materials imported for the use of
pharmaceutical production. The sector also enjoys a tax holiday and duty drawback scheme. The
export policy of 201215 doubled the value of samples allowed to be sent by the pharmaceutical
industry to overseas buyers to US$60,000 a year.

Import of Pharmaceuticals
Bangladesh is importing the medicinal products from different countries, especially from India.
Different organizations of this country are related to import the pharmaceuticals products and
raw materials of pharmaceutical industries. Novo and Medintis are importing maximum amount
of these types of products. Other organizations are engaging to import the pharmaceuticals
products. They are- Sanofi, Aventis, Glaxo Smithkline, Sandoz, Novartis, Roche, Unimed,
Servier etc.

Import Policy

Pharmaceutical firms are subject to a special low-tariff regime for both outputs and inputs. This
is because of the special dispensation under the Drug Policy (the Drug Control Act of 1982
restricted imports and capped prices) to keep domestic prices low but with strong controls on
competing imports. The effective rate of protection (ERP) in the pharmaceutical sector is
apparently very low, ranging from 0.5percentto about 20percent, provided that the output tariff

of 0 to 5percent is the one actually levied. However, once the tariff equivalence of import
controls is taken into account, ERPs could be much higher

The import regime consists of banned items, restricted items and freely importable items. The
procedures for importation are facilitated by creating a block list of imports for each
recognized pharmaceutical company approved by the Director of the DGDA. Companies
importing raw materials have to present an import invoice and analysis report of the quality,
value, and quantity for each import. The analysis report of the raw materials must be certified by
the DGDA or be prepared by a government-approved preshipment inspection agent (Ministry of
Commerce 2012).

Competitive Position
Pharmaceutical industry is facing competitive market domestically. Square, Beximco, Incepta,
Acme, SK-F, Drug International, AristoPharma, ACI, are the competitors of one another in
medicine market. To purchase the medicinal product is not depending on the customer choice.
For this reason, the primary survey over the customer and the actual condition is different. From
the above chart, this can be said that no organization can capture the maximum market share in
medicine marketing. There is a tough competition among Square, Beximco, and Incepta.

Foreign Competitions
At the beginning the foreign pharmaceuticals were dominating the market in our country. Still
now, Pharmaceuticals industries are facing foreign competition. But our industry is not afraid of
this foreign competition. There are many multinational pharmaceutical organizations which have
established their plants in Bangladesh and importing their raw materials from abroad. Among
these competitors, Roche, Glaxo SmithKline, Novartis are leading. In export market, the
Novartis is playing the dominant role.
Prospects of Foreign Competition
i. Foreign competitions made the country firms more eligible to face challenges that arose after
the year 2005.
ii. Pharmaceuticals industries will become more efficient in producing medicine which may save
our lives.
iii. The local firms will not face any rigorous problem in foreign countries as they are
accustomed in competition with foreign firms.

TRIPS & BANGLADESH

The WTOs Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
requires all signatories to legislate 20-year patent protection for pharmaceutical products into
their domestic law. TRIPSis a framework for intellectual property protection with minimum
agreed standards. While signatory countries must meet its requirements through legislation,
TRIPS provides significant flexibility.

Along with other LDCs, Bangladesh has an exemption from the World Trade Organization's
(WTO) Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreement. The
exemption is currently due to expire at the start of 2016. The TRIPs exemption allows
Bangladesh (and other LDCs) not to provide patent protection for drugs that are required by
TRIPs to be protected by patents elsewhere in the world. The government of Bangladesh has
proposed that the exemption should be extended to 2026, but it is not yet clear whether this will
happen. The chief benefit of TRIPs exemption to the sector in Bangladesh is that it allows
companies operating in Bangladesh to develop generic versions of drugs that are under patent
protection elsewhere, and to sell these products. They can be sold on the local market. They can
also be sold in markets where the patent owner has not filed for protection, or to other LDCs or
non-members of the WTO which have not implemented patent protection, which gives the sector
some advantages in export markets. A further benefit is that Bangladesh is now one of very few
countries that can fulfill an export request for a compulsorily licensed pharmaceutical product
originally patented after 2005. Under Article 31 of TRIPs, a government can over-ride a patent to
compulsorily license a pharmaceutical product for public health reasons.

In some cases, Bangladesh companies that are already producing a generic version of a patented
drug may have a head start in exporting it to global markets when it comes off patent protection.
Bangladesh has tariff-free access to the EU, USA and Japan for pharmaceuticals. It has reduced
tariffs for exports to India and China under the South Asian Free Trade Area and the Asia Pacific
Trade Agreement. This favorable market access is not related to TRIPs. The benefits that the
Bangladesh pharmaceutical sector derives from the TRIPs exemption are limited by the fact that

it purchases most of its Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) from countries compliant with
TRIPs. Most of the APIs under patent protection that it purchases are therefore licensed by the
patent holder, and this is reflected in prices paid.
The Bangladesh pharmaceutical sector is investing heavily in the capabilities needed to
develop its own APIs. If the TRIPs exemption is extended it is likely that it will be able to
replace many licensed in-patent APIs with its own generic versions, significantly cutting its
costs. Conversely, if the exemption is not extended, some holders of pharmaceutical intellectual
property might use their greater leverage to enter Bangladeshs domestic market, possibly
limiting access by the Bangladesh sector to APIs, or to raise prices for APIs charged to
Bangladesh businesses.

********
The future of pharmaceutical exports from Bangladesh is bright. After the inclusion of
the Doha declaration in WTO / TRIPS Agreement, each and every country belonging to the LDC
Category has the option not to opt for pharma product patent until year 2,016; which means, they
can now legally reverse-engineer patented products and sell in their markets and can export to
other LDCs, too. This generates a huge export opportunities for Bangladesh, as among all 50
LDCs, Bangladesh is the only country which had a strong pharma manufacturing base. Besides
direct export operations, there is also a huge opportunity for the Bangladeshi companies to go for
the Contract Manufacturing and compulsory licensing. The good news is, the leading pharma
exporters of Bangladesh have already started availing these opportunities.

Trends in Competitiveness Relative to China, India and other countries with

low manufacturing costs
Bangladeshs most significant source of competitive advantage in manufacturing industry is its
low labor costs. Bangladesh also claims a significant advantage in energy costs over competitors,
arising from low natural gas prices. Despite of low labor cost deficiencies in infrastructure,
weaker local supply networks and less advanced accumulation of knowledge and know-how in
Bangladesh give industries in China and India compensating advantages.

However, Bangladeshs infrastructure is improving, and pharmaceutical companies are investing

in their own knowledge and capabilities, and in developing local supply capacity (particularly in
APIs). This appears to be narrowing the gap on non-cost factors.

Rising Labour Productivity in Pharmaceuticals Sector

Rising labour productivity will be a significant factor affecting pharmaceutical sector
employment in Bangladesh into the future. Businesses will have to invest in newer equipment in
order to meet international standards, and this equipment will be capable of producing
substantially greater output relative to the number of operators employed. This reflects a wider
reality in the pharmaceutical sector globally that newer and improved technologies are
continually improving productivity in the sector at a rapid rate as they are deployed. For any
individual operation the increases in labour productivity tend to occur in jumps associated with
investment in production equipment or in automation, but appear as quite rapid continual
productivity growth when viewed at the level of the sector

Four important JOB SCOPES in Pharmaceutical industries

1. Pharmaceutical

industries

(Finished

medicines,

Active

Pharmaceutical

Ingredients/APIs, and Excipients Manufacturing industries): In Production, Quality

Control (QC), Quality Assurance (QA), Product Development (PD), cGMP Training,
Warehouse, Drug Research and Invention, and Technical Services Department (TSD).
2. Pharmaceutical Marketing: Product Management Department (PMD), Medical
Services Department (MSD), Sales Promotion/Medical Promotion, Clinical Services,
Training for field forces, and International Marketing (IM) departments.
3. Drug Testing Laboratories (Dhaka and Chittagong)
4. Research & Development in Pharma industries, educational and research institutes
(Research for new drug molecules, Novel Drug Delivery Systems, Improved Healthcare,
Clinical aspects, etc.)

Challenges & Prospects

1. Bioequivalence Test Facility: There is no standard facility for bioequivalence study in

Bangladesh. In order to register a product, a pharmaceutical company has to carry out this
test in foreign country by spending of a huge charge. For this reason, many pharmaceutical
manufacturers dont show interest to register their products in foreign countries that require
Bioequivalence study.
2. Modern Drug Testing Laboratory: A major limitation of drug control authority of
Bangladesh that also affects pharmaceutical export is unavailability of a modern, well
equipped drug testing laboratory (DTL) with the engagement of sufficient and skilled
pharmaceutical scientists. Due to lack of this, our drug control authority cannot monitor the
quality of drugs manufactured by different pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh.
Moreover, foreign buyers and regulatory authorities raise question about the status of our
drug testing laboratory, the central quality monitoring facilities of drug authority of
Bangladesh.
3. Custom Harassment in Sending Drug Sample: Considerable hazards or bureaucratic
obstacles are confronted by the local pharmaceutical companies in sending samples abroad,
to station or appoint representatives in foreign countries, in sending money for the purpose
and doing other promotional activities. The customs authority of Bangladesh imposes
restrictions in sending drug samples to the importing countries. Restrictions are being made
on giving permission to send drug samples and also limiting the quantity of samples to be
sent.
4. Regulated Markets: To register pharmaceutical products in regulated markets it requires
highly standardized documents. There are regulations directed by the regulatory authorities of
United States of America, European Union, Australia and Japan along with other highly
regulated and semi regulated countries. To meet all their requirements sophisticated and
accredited manufacturing plant, standardized manufacturing process, proper quality control
and above all highly skilled professionals are required. It is tough to meet all the
requirements by small pharmaceutical companies of Bangladesh.

5. Problems of Marketing

i.

Professionalism in marketing is not achieved yet in Bangladesh like other

developing countries.

ii.

Because of having no sufficient incentives in comparison with their effort, the

turnover rate of medical representatives is very high.

iii.

Most of the time costs of marketing hardly affect the price of the medicine.

iv.

Lack of proper governmental laws and this implementation the law by the drug
administration.

6. Prospects of Marketing

i.

Marketing system is improving in this sector and proper marketing may help a
firm to achieve the aim.

ii.

For free and fair competitions marketing can play a major role.

iii.

Marketing can be regarded one of the most important weapons to face the
challenges of open market economy

7. Problems of Export

i.

Unstable political situation is one of the vital reasons for not achieving the
expectation in export.

ii.

Problems of port (both sea and air) hinder the timely export.

iii.

Irresponsibility of customs officers is a regular phenomenon which results in

increase on the price and cost of medicine.

iv.

Sometimes competition tends to follow unfair promotional activities.

v.

Still now, the products of the pharmaceuticals industries of Bangladesh are not
world class.

8. Prospects of export

i.

Competition is increasing the quality of medicinal products.

ii.

For surviving in the future, competitive environment is necessary.

iii.

Competition reduces monopolistic attitude of the firms. As a result, the customers

will be benefited by getting quality products.

iv.

Export brings foreign currencies for the country which is helpful for the reserve of
the country.

9. Problems of Customer Choices

i.

One main problem is in producing rare drugs foreign companies are ahead of us in
terms of quality, experience and market share.

ii.

Most of the time, to purchase the medicinal products is not depending on the
customer choice. Customers buy their product according to the prescription of
doctors.

10. Prospects of Customer Choices

i.

By increasing quality, more customers as well as market share can be absorbed.

ii.

By producing rare drugs at home, the country can save its foreign exchange.

iii.

By extensive promotional activity, customer choice can be driven.

11. Problems of Power Development

i.

Like other industries, there is a crucial problem faced by the pharmaceutical

industries that is power generation problem. They are not getting power according
to their demand.

ii.

Red-Tapism of govt. offices hinders the development of power generation

sector, where the government is not taking effective actions.

iii.

Lack of opportunity to supply the emergency power to smooth continuation of

production in pharmaceutical sector.

12. Prospects of Power Development

i.

By following all the rules and innovating alternative power supply source, this
sector is entering the competitive market.

ii.

Pharmaceuticals may open a big door of prospect in the foreign market.

Gaps in Business Capabilities - Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)

Good Manufacturing Practice is a set of principles for the manufacture of drugs and active
pharmaceutical ingredients, often backed up by specific regulations and guidelines. It is
abbreviated to GMP or cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practice). It is necessary for
pharmaceutical firms to implement Good Manufacturing Practice principles and practices in
order to bring the sector in line with international standards. This is necessary for access to
regulated markets, and is required to position Bangladesh as a source of high quality
pharmaceuticals for unregulated and lightly regulated markets.

Gaps in Business Capabilities - Producing APIs

Bangladeshs pharmaceutical sector is making a major strategic move into producing the APIs it
requires, rather than importing them. Concerns about cost and security of supply of APIs are
important concerns behind this move. Some of the leading firms in the sector already have some
APIs in production, and are investing heavily in process development to produce more. More
companies will need API-related capabilities, and many of those that already have significant
strengths will need to further strengthen their capabilities. Bangladeshs Board of Investment
indicates that Bangladesh imports about 80 percent of its APIs, implying that it produces about
20 percent itself.

Gaps in Business Capabilities - Export Marketing, Product Management,

Channel Management
The Bangladesh pharmaceutical sector has significant strengths in marketing, but its experience
is mainly in the domestic market. It mostly sells directly to pharmacies, so experience with
managing distribution channels operated by other businesses is limited. While firms in the sector
sell to a number of export markets, their involvement in the market is most often quite distant
selling to an agent or distributor that takes full control over marketing and distribution of the
products in-country, and passes very little information back to the Bangladesh supplier. It may be
preferable for the Bangladesh firm to take lead responsibility for sales and marketing. At a
minimum, it will be necessary for the Bangladesh firm to have an involvement in setting or

approving market strategies, including pricing strategies, to ensure they are aligned with the
Bangladesh firms interests, and to ensure that the benefits of low factory gate prices do not only
accrue to an agent or distributor.

Gaps in Business Capabilities - Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are important to the future of the sector for two reasons:
1. The large numbers of generic drugs requiring testing for regulatory approval will generate a
substantial demand for bioequivalence testing from the Bangladesh pharmaceutical sector. A
base of local suppliers of bioequivalence laboratory services could supply this service at lower
cost than international competitors.

2. Clinical trials represent an enterprise development opportunity in their own right. India has
become a major global player in this part of the pharmaceutical value chain, based on
characteristics (large population, low costs, lack of universal access to high quality medical
services) that are shared with Bangladesh to a significant extent. There may be room for
Bangladesh to become a significant player too. So far, Bangladeshs clinical trials sector is small.
Even if it only to service the need for bioequivalence testing, it will need stronger capabilities.

Types of Skills Needed

Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)
A programme to implement Good Manufacturing Practice in a pharmaceutical firm has
implications for skills throughout its manufacturing operations.
It reshapes the work involved, thereby modifying skills needs, in all major production related
Occupations, notably including:

Operatives and production technicians

Laboratory technicians

Production managers

Chemists and pharmacists

Engineers (production, chemical, mechanical, electrical, software/computer/automation

etc.)

Quality assurance and documentation specialists

Producing APIs
The main skills associated with each of the main business capabilities associated with APIs are:

Process development: High level skills in chemistry and pharmacy, from bachelor degree
to PhD level, with a need for support from chemistry technicians.

Process scale-up: More high level skills in chemistry and pharmacy, from bachelor
degree to PhD level, plus chemical engineers, again supported by chemistry technicians.

Process plant design and installation: Engineers and technicians from a range of
engineering disciplines, including chemical engineering, mechanical engineering,
electrical engineering, software/electronic/automation engineering and instrumentation
engineering.

Process operation: Skilled operatives and production technicians, laboratory technicians,

chemists, pharmacists, production supervisors/team leaders, quality assurance and
documentation specialists and production managers. As activity should increase
substantially in all these areas, demand for all these types of skill should be strong.

Export Marketing, Product Management, Channel Management

The need here is for marketing and sales skills at a variety of levels, from call centre staff
to process orders and deal with routine issues to senior executives capable of setting international
marketing strategies, running effective international sales and marketing operations, and
establishing and managing relationships with agents and distributors in international markets.
There will be a significant requirement for marketing professionals with skills in export
marketing, product management and channel management. All of these will require some
specialist expertise in pharmaceuticals, with product managers needing significant knowledge of
pharmaceutical sciences, healthcare and regulatory affairs as well as marketing.

Implications for types of skills needed - Clinical Trials

Major areas of skill in clinical trials include:

 Clinical trials managers

Statisticians
Scientists (various branches of the human health sciences)
Regulatory affairs professionals

Projected Skill Demand Versus Current Supply

Recruiting New Workers
Despite pharmaceuticals in Bangladesh being positioned as a low cost sector relative to
its international peers, within Bangladesh it is an attractive employer that offers good pay and
stable employment, at least among medium sized and large firms. It allows university graduates
to make good use of their skills and knowledge, and offers good opportunities for career
development. Larger firms are positioned better than smaller firms to attract the best people, and
to provide training to address skills deficiencies, so smaller firms face more pressing skills
challenges.
The main hiring difficulties highlighted by large firms are in recruiting for high level
management positions. This is a fairly common feature of fast-growth industries in economies
that are developing rapidly they have not had the opportunity to build up a base of high level
talent. Larger firms are able to recruit people from the best institutions, and with the best
academic records. As they have the capacity to provide appropriate training to their people.
For the very highly skilled people required people with a good quality PhD and/or with
long industry experience sources in the sector suggest that Bangladeshs diaspora includes
significant numbers of such people, and that many of them are interested in moving home if a
good opportunity appears. This would be consistent with the experience of other countries with a
history of high skilled emigration, where returning emigrants have made an important
contribution to the development of their sector. A well-known example is in the Indian
information technology sector, where studies have found many professionals moving to the US
after graduation, and returning to India later in their career.
Skills of Existing Workers
Barriers mentioned by large companies include: scarcity of skilled and competent
trainers; limited budgets for human resources development; slow adaptability of workers; lack of
good infrastructural facilities for training and development; indifference of managers; lack of a

standard compensation policy with a company; lack of availability of appropriate vocational

training provision; and people being very busy with their existing workload. All of the large
companies consulted provide necessary training. Multinational companies have global trainers,
resources and modules, but local companies are constrained by a lack of resources.
Medium sized companies consulted are broadly satisfied with the skills of their existing
workforces, but see a need for more training in GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice), product
development, compliance and regulatory management. Key areas where they would like to
improve include improving selling skills, improving management skills and developing the
capacity of employees in technical areas. Barriers to achieving improvement they identify
include: scarcity of skilled and competent trainers; limited financial capacity to fund extensive
training; risk that trained employees will move to a different employer; insufficient pre-existing
technical knowledge and training; and concerns about the possible business impact of unethical
practices in the sector. All of the medium sized companies consulted provide suitable training,
but there is lack of suitable trainers in the market.
Small companies consulted are not satisfied with the skills of their existing workforces.
Key areas where they would like to improve include sales management, operations productivity
and technology skills. Barriers they identify include lack of financial resources, lack of qualified
trainers and lack of skilled management. All companies consulted provide suitable training, but
say there is a lack of suitable trainers.

Pharmaceuticals in 2013:
According to International Marketing Services (IMS), Bangladesh's domestic pharmaceuticals
market grew nearly 13% to $250m in 2013.
In addition, per the Commerce Ministry's Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh now
exports to about 85 countries including Austria, Denmark, the UK, Germany, France, Singapore,
Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brazil, Pakistan, Burma and Yemen.
According to the DGDA, 194 of 275 government-registered pharmaceutical companies regularly
produce items like cough syrup and flu tablets. Square, Incepta, Beximco, Acme, and Eskayef
account for 45% of Bangladesh's total production, manufacturing products for export in state-of
the-art factories. Companies like the UK's GlaxoSmithKline, Switzerland's Novartis and France's

Sanofi have set up plants producing life-saving vaccines, anti-cancer drugs and other high-end
products in Bangladesh. Future forecasting is given as belows:

Pharma exports rose around 24 percent year-on-year to $59.82 million in fiscal 2012-13 thanks
to a growing demand for Bangladeshi medicines in Southeast Asia, Asia Pacific and Africa.

With an annual two-digit growth rate the Bangladesh pharmaceutical industry is now heading
towards self sufficiency in meeting local demand. There are more than 300 small, medium,
large and multinational companies operating in the country producing around 97% of the total
demand. The sector is the second highest contributor to the national ex-chequer after tobacco and
it is the largest white-collar intensive employment sector in Bangladesh.

Recommendations:

Support from the International Support Organizations /Agencies

International agencies like ITC, UNIDO, WHO, World Bank etc should extend technical
support through educating the local industry representatives on TRIPS and its potential
benefits. International agencies may also extend technical assistance to Bangladesh
pharmaceutical industry sector for setting up world class Drug Testing Laboratory for
testing of medicines. Multilateral financing agencies should provide soft funds to set-up
plants for producing active pharmaceutical ingredients. External financial support may be
explored for combined water treatment plant for waste management of the proposed
API manufacturing plants.

Support from the Local Authority /Organizations

Relevant agencies like Board of Investment, Export Processing Zones Authority, local
and multilateral Development Finance Institutions and others should be instructed and
assisted by the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs, Government of Bangladesh (GoB)
to undertake immediate measures in this regard. The government should also consider
giving export incentive to the local pharmaceuticals exporters to be competitive, as the
competing countries have already taken such provisions (India offers cash incentives at
20% and 30% on raw materials and finished products and China also offers huge
incentives to its exporters). Cash incentive should be offered to the exporters of
pharmaceuticals products. Exporters should also be awarded nationally. Incinerator &
Effluent Treatment Plant (IETP) for facilitating waste management and environment
protection through Central Environmental Treatment Plant

Positive and enabling business environment

Information on importing countries like import procedures, freight components, banking
facilities and addresses of chambers and business associations shall be made available.
Combined efforts should be given by the Ministry of Health and Family Planning, the
Ministry of Commerce, local chambers and trade associations for effective coordination
for export expansion in the overseas.

Medicine export should be emphasized to LDCs than any other countries

Some companies are aggressive to enter the highly regulated overseas markets, such as, USA,
Australia, Europe, Canada, France, and Golf countries. But the practical observation is that
getting export status to those countries requires huge investment in the manufacturing plant
to achieve certification from different international drug regulatory authorities, highly

sophisticated documentation, and huge initial capital investment. Actually the export volume
to the highly regulated countries will not be easily feasible; rather we can perform pretty well
and can potentially increase our export if the exporters become more attentive to LDCs.
Among 50 LDCs, only Bangladesh has its strong fundamental and modern manufacturing
base, hence we can easily share the drug market of rest of the LDCs. So, considering the
practical situation, the LDCs should be the targeted markets of our pharmaceuticals, of
course, side by side, moderately regulated and highly regulated

Establishing Export cell by the govt./private Consultancy firms may promote Pharma
export:
Government can establish specialized Export Cell to promote exports of pharmaceuticals to
grab and capitalize the huge export opportunities in LDCs. Some private Consultancy firms
having experience and expertise in drug export professionally can be engaged to assist the
pharmaceutical companies who do not have the technical and expertise know-how to go
through the entire process of export, or have lacking in documentation skills or even do not
have the skilled man power to deal with the drug export. Thus, Consultancy firms can play a
significant role to explore export to maximum countries, accelerate export activities, and to
reduce the overall cost of export. Even some small companies having International Marketing
Department (IMD) can explore the benefits of outsourcing by hiring Export Consultants to
reduce its overhead expenditure and make a comparative study of cost-benefit ration to
justify having IMD.

Power Generation: Pharmaceutical companies may take the initiative to generate the

power for continuous supply of electricity.

Advertising cost: It should be reduced and this is necessary to make the marketing
people aware of their profession.