The three-day17thAsia Pharma Expo 2026 and the Asia Lab Expo 2026 are set to be held at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre from Sunday next. With 23 years' legacy behind this exposition, it is a major event on the calendar of the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI). Since the launching of the event in 2003, it has showcased the footprints of different pharmaceutical companies in the country. At the same time the foreign companies from different countries, which attend the expo also exhibit the latest technological innovation in pharmaceutical processing, packaging, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and excipients. Likewise the laboratory segment demonstrates a whole range of lab and analytical instruments, clean room; heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, water management and turnkey project solutions.
Clearly, the exposition scheduled for the last three days of this month is unlike other trade fairs welcoming all and sundry. It is meant for trade visitors who are willing to expand their pharmaceutical business particularly in the area of manufacturing drugs and procuring instruments that help slash production time and bring down costs. This is important for all industries, only more so for pharmaceutical industry because in the process the quality of life-saving drugs cannot be compromised at all.
This time 400 such pharma and related lab companies from over 20 countries are expected to have their representations at the exposition. Why is the BAPI hosting such a high-profile pharma exhibition? Bangladeshi drug companies boast exporting medicines to 157 countries including the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada. This sounds great but hardly does justice to the industry's potential. Valued at only $3.5 billion, it should have been many times more. However, the projection is that the industry will be worth 6.0 billion by this year.
This is evident enough that the pharmaceutical sector has come of age and within a year it can grow by $2.5 billion at the rate of 15-18 per cent growth. But its export component was only $213 million worth in the 2024-25 fiscal year. Against this, export value of leather and leather goods was at $1.14 billion in the same fiscal. Although both industries have the potential to outpace the readymade garment (RMG), the official patronage in case of those two industries is virtually missing. The right kind of manufacturing ecosystem for leather and pharmaceutical is yet to be created. This is notwithstanding the fact that Bangladesh is in a dire need to diversify its export basket.
The main foreign exchange earner RMG's export was valued at $39.35 billion in the last fiscal. Both leather and pharmaceutical sectors receive step-brotherly treatment but their contribution to the country's economy could rival the success in the RMG sector. One of the two cannot take off on account of years of neglect including protracted delay in its relocation from Hazaribagh to Savar leather industrial park. Even when the relocation was complete, the malfunctioning Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) has now held back the leather sector's expansion and growth. Without an efficient CETP, even high quality leather goods have to settle for lower prices on low-end international markets.
Similarly, the active pharmaceutical ingredients park in Munshiganj has encountered a stumbling block because of a lack of power and gas supply. It has now become a lame duck. But had there been the urgency of producing API locally, the country's pharma sector would make a giant leap. The majority of drugs would be far cheaper than those are now. If the drug companies in the country can meet 98 per cent of the country's requirement without local API, it leaves no doubt about the immense benefit such locally produced ingredients could accrue.
It cannot be denied that locally produced medicines are costlier than those in its largest neighbour India. China and India lead in production of APIs with India's share of 48 per cent in the APIs for US medicine. India is the top supplier of API with China following it. Bangladesh starts nice projects but not to complete those. In case of APIs, this is holding back the growth of pharmaceutical industry and making the most of the export opportunity. At the same time, medicines including life saving drugs are costlier so much so that many cannot afford those. In the absence of discipline in the health sector, the poor people are deprived of medical care and costly medicines only make the situation only worse.
Statistics like the meeting of 98 per cent domestic need for medicine is somewhat hollow because those who cannot afford costly medicines never figure in the statistical reckoning. Then the export volume also is not very large and 157 countries serving as destination for made in Bangladesh drugs offer small solace as the limited size would show. There is a small select band of pharmaceutical companies which has passed the rigorous tests in the Western countries including that of the US Food and Drug Administration. Maintaining the highest standard of quality drugs for all pharmaceuticals requires closer supervision by the Directorate General of Drug Administration. If a uniform standard for all drug companies can be achieved, the range and scope of medicine export will turn the country into a vibrant source of medicines for several countries. This has to be complemented by constant research and adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies. Thus the pharmaceutical industry will take off rendering the sector to exploit its potential for export. This is how the country may have a transition to be a reliable drug hub.
nilratanhalder2000@yahoo.com
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