Bangladesh offers a business-friendly environment which is placed 15th globally for the protection which it affords investors in the World Bank’s “Doing Business” survey.
The rapid growth that is now taking place in Bangladesh in this sector is creating its own set of unique opportunities.
Bangladesh currently imports around 80% of its Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs). As the domestic industry grows so too does the incentive to manufacture APIs* in Bangladesh.
A dedicated APIs manufacturing park is due to open near Dhaka in 2010.
Bangladesh companies with internationally certified manufacturing plants are actively looking for foreign partners. Opportunities exist to invest in local companies to allow them to undertake contract manufacturing of drugs, taking advantage of the flexibility permitted by TRIPS*.
Research and development facilities located in Bangladesh can carry out research into the reverse engineering of patented drugs.
In the longer term, Bangladesh is a market of growing importance in its own right. The population is already 150m and is predicted to overtake that of Russia by 2020.
Strong domestic and international demand for pharmaceutical products.
A demand-supply gap in pharmaceutical products.
As exports of pharmaceutical products to highly regulated markets must comply with strict regulations in the importing country, several firms in Bangladesh have acquired international certification, whether EU*, USFDA*, UKMHRA* or TGA*. The need to fulfill such requirements has driven investment in internationally compliant production facilities. For example, Square spent $50m on a new factory which has now achieved UKMHRA certification. Bangladesh already exports to medium-regulated markets including Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Singapore, and to less regulated ones such as Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The presence of companies in Bangladesh with internationally-certified facilities opens up the prospect of contract manufacturing for export to highly regulated markets.
Source:
http://www.boi.gov.bd/index.php/extra/key-benefits-and-advantages
