The government may not be able before 2016 to apply for the WHO pre-qualification seal for its laboratory that needs to be well-equipped and well-manned for testing drugs as required by most importing countries.
Currently the importing countries require drugs to be tested in globally-recognised labs and the exporters from Bangladesh get it done in labs abroad by spending large sums of money before export.
Officials said effective steps for upgrading the drug-testing lab by employing the required manpower and procuring modern machinery could earn the lab the WHO recognition and save the country a large amount of money spent for drug testing abroad.
As a result, it is unlikely that in next two years the dishing out of foreign currencies would be stopped regarding drug tests by exporters in foreign labs.
Experts say if the existing national control laboratory is supported by the government by providing necessary manpower and upgrading its machinery and equipment, the country can apply to the World Health Organisation (WHO) for pre-qualification and then final recognition.
But the government, despite understanding the need for having an own internationally-accepted drug-testing lab, is not taking any step for initiating the process of getting international accreditation for its existing lab.
An official at the Directorate-General of Drug Administration (DGDA) said though the existing lab was being maintained as per WHO guidelines, it was not possible to apply before 2016 to the WHO headquarters for its assessment inspection by its staff.
He said it needed funds, training and manpower urgently before applying for the prequalification certificate.
"We need a documentation process, manpower, equipment calibration, installation of new and modern machinery and many other things as per the WHO requirements," the official said.
A member of Bangladesh Association of Pharma-ceutical Industries (BAPI), who exports drugs to more than 10 countries, said if the local testing lab was recognised by the WHO, the exporters would not need to spend money abroad as most of the importing countries accept the WHO-recognised testing certification.
According to sources, currently Bangladesh is exporting drugs to more than 90 countries of the world, but, except a few, most of the importing countries require globally-accepted testing certificates.
The sources also said currently more than 500 generics are registered under different brands on the export market and for test of every brand of generic drugs a company has to pay at least $20,000 abroad.
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