Bangladesh ,The Pharmaceutical Market

Politically, Bangladesh seems stable after decades of insecurity and coups; Prime Minister Hasina’s government dominates the parliament. Economically, Bangladesh’s economy sustained to grow throughout the global slump. However, per capita expenditure remains the lowest out of all markets covered by Espicom. Legally, Bangladesh does not have to abide by the WTO’s TRIPS agreement until 2016, an aspect which is being exploited by the domestic generic industry. In July 2010, Prime Minister Skeikh Hasina Wajed urged the WIPO for another 15 years’ waiver of Bangladeshi pharmaceuticals from IPR restrictions. Demographically, the anticipated population of Bangladesh in 2015 will be nearly twice that of Vietnam and slightly less than Pakistan.

Official reporting of Bangladesh’s health spending is limited, but it does appear that expenditure is rising. Bangladesh had the lowest physician rate in the world, although Espicom projects it to overtake Thailand and Indonesia in 2010. The National Drug Policy of 2005 was a great step forward for Bangladesh. However, understaffing and a lack of funding at the Directorate of Drug Administration (DDA) have resulted in serious safety breaches in pharmaceutical manufacture, such as the scandal involving Rid Pharmaceuticals which resulted in the deaths of 24 children.

Bangladesh is an extremely poor nation, and many of the population cannot afford to see health professionals when they fall ill, therefore been a long tradition of self-medication in the country. The pharmaceutical distribution network tends to be more retail-orientated and the bulk of distribution is done by the companies themselves. An anarchic situation is prevailing in the marketing and sales of medicines in Bangladesh. Thousands of illegal and unlicensed drug stores exist in cities, towns and rural haats and bazaars, which leads to the unnecessary sale of often poorly-manufactured pharmaceuticals.

The country has a large generic market, and companies such as Square and Beximco are beginning to have success overseas. However, despite the country possessing huge manufacturing capabilities, the complete lack of R&D in domestic companies could cause the market to stagnate. The balance of pharmaceutical trade remains negative, but it is difficult to project how the balance will change throughout the forecast period. Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical reputation may have been tarnished by the recent scandal involving Rid Pharmaceuticals, which could result in fewer exports of domestically-produced drugs.