By Elishya Perera
DHAKA, Bangladesh (CWBN)_ The Bangladesh pharmaceutical market is expected to surpass $6 billion by 2025 according to a reported issued by Research and Markets, a Dublin-based market insight and analysis firm.
The report, titled “Bangladesh Pharmaceutical Market Future Opportunity Outlook 2025” stated that all the associated factors are in favor of the rapid growth of the Bangladesh pharmaceutical market. “It is expected to grow with a CAGR of more than 12% during 2019-2025 period,” the report added.
The report also claims that although the pharmaceutical market in Bangladesh was largely dependent on imports, local pharmaceutical companies have begun to contribute more than 90 per cent of the overall available medicine in the market in recent times.
The firm further notes that this change, which has transformed the curve of the overall contribution of Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical market on a global level, is a result of innovation in science and research and the development sector.
On the other hand, market analysis by the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority indicates that the demand for healthcare services is growing by about 21 per cent annually, and that Bangladeshis spend around $2.04 billion abroad annually for medical treatment, which accounts for 1.94 per cent of the country’s GDP.
The report by Research and Markets says that socio-economic factors such as growth in per capita income, rise in life expectancy, growth in population and changes in lifestyle are some of the underlying reasons for the expansion in the consumption within the local market.
Moreover, the pharmaceutical industry of Bangladesh is one of the few sectors which did not experience a decline in exports amidst the Coronavirus-induced economic crisis. In fact, the industry saw a growth in exports during the pandemic since pharmaceutical products are essential for all countries.
It has been reported that pharmaceutical shipments soared 4.49 per cent year-on-year to $136 million in fiscal 2019-20.
While Bangladesh is expected to reach its export target of $6 billion by 2025, CEO of Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Rabbur Reza says that the country has to wait until June next year to find out the accurate growth rate of the industry.
Meanwhile, the government of Bangladesh is also expected to play a significant role in the rapid growth of the pharmaceutical market in the coming years, in particular by providing favourable policies for easy drug approval.
The government has initiated a project to reduce the country’s dependence on the import of raw materials through the establishment of the Active Pharmaceuticals Ingredient Industrial Park in Munshiganj. The top 50 pharmaceutical companies are setting up their facilities at the API Park, which is expected to reduce the expenditure related to the import of raw material in order to gain competitive advantages in global marketplace.
The industrial park is expected to be completed within the next two years.
Edited by Kaveesha Fernando
