Pharma expo kicks off
A three-day international exhibition on pharmaceutical manufacturing kicked off yesterday in Dhaka at a time when the sector is growing rapidly.
About 650 companies from 32 countries are showcasing pharma manufacturing and processing equipment and raw materials at the 11th Asia Pharma Expo.
Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries and GPE Expo jointly organised the event at International Convention City Bashundhara.
The exhibitors are showcasing processing machineries for tablets, capsule, injectable ointment, packaging, active pharmaceutical ingredients and more.
Different types of machineries and materials are drawing huge crowds to every stall. One such stall was of Spain-based company Azbil Telestar Bangladesh.
“Now, the Bangladesh-made medicines have started winning global hearts,” said Abhijit Paul, country general manager of Azbil Telestar, which has been operating in the country since 2003. Pharmaceutical exports will increase further because local manufacturers are making drugs that are extremely low-cost, he added.
In fiscal 2016-17, pharmaceutical exports crossed the $100-million mark for the first time in the country's history, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau.
Multinational companies are struggling in Bangladesh while local companies are doing very well, said Salvador Lopez Diaz de Rada, Telestar's CRS business division director.
Zahid Malik, health and family welfare minister, inaugurated the fair. Salman F Rahman, the prime minister's adviser on private industry and investment, and Nazmul Hassan, a lawmaker and president of the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries, were also present.
