The country's fast-booming pharmaceutical sector grew at its slowest pace in 2013 during last eight years, starting from 2005. It bled substantially during the last quarter of the immediate-past calendar year.
The bleak picture emerged in the latest official statistics of the US-based IMS issued Thursday last. Industry insiders also echoed the findings, and blamed the political unrest in 2013 as the main reason for the dismal situation.
The growth in the country's pharmaceutical sector was recorded at 6.5 per cent in the last quarter (October-December) of 2013 -- at the time of political turbulence over the formation of a caretaker government and issues centring round the general election.
The annual growth in January-December in 2013 stood at 8.1 per cent. The sector contributes nearly 1.0 per cent to gross domestic product (GDP), and has been growing by double digit since 2009. In the recent years, except in 2013, the sector grew by more than 20 per cent annually.
However, the retail pharmaceutical market value, excluding institutional sales, stood at US$ 1.3 billion at the end of December in 2013, according to the US-based pharmaceutical market research organisation IMS.
The IMS is the only organisation that exclusively conducts research on the market data related to the specialised field of pharmaceutical products. It has direct operation in Bangladesh and serves its nearly two dozen large pharma clients.
Some top pharmaceutical company executives told the FE that the pharma sector's data for the last year had not surprised them. They said it was expected amid the political unrest in 2013.
Nearly 78 days (77.5 days) in 2013 were affected by hartals (shutdowns) and blockades, they said.
They noted many firms had stopped supplying drugs across the country after arson on their motorised vehicles carrying pharmaceutical products during November-December in 2013. A covered van usually carries drugs worth more than Tk 10 million, they said.
"We were badly affected in 2013, the main reason being political programmes that stopped our supply of drugs to different parts of the country," said Mr Abdul Muktadir, managing director of Incepta Pharmaceuticals Ltd, the second-largest pharma company.
"The political trouble dealt a great blow to the sector in 2013," he noted.
"But it is good news for us that the sector did not grow negatively, as the situation kept deteriorating, which we had thought would happen," Mr Muktadir, also secretary general of Bangladesh Oushadh Shilpa Samity, said.
A senior official at the third-largest pharmaceutical company, Beximco, said: "We have tried to keep the supply uninterrupted during the blockades, but many of our vehicles were set on fire that damaged our valuable products that led to financial losses of the company."
"The trade data has reflected the sluggish domestic demand for pharmaceutical products in 2013," he added.
However, Mr. Muktadir said the market had not grown even in January and February, 2014.
"We're expecting the sales to grow from this month (March)," he noted.
Meanwhile, Square is shown as the highest seller of pharmaceutical products in 2013, followed by Incepta. Beximco Pharma is shown as the third-largest pharma player.
There was no significant change in the ranking of sales involving top pharma products.
Square's Seclo dominated the local market in 2013. The second and the third top-selling pharma-products were Losectil and Maxpro respectively.
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