Health ministry forms 11-member committee to boost API industry

The government has formed an 11-member committee to promote the country's active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) industry. Health Secretary Saidur Rahman has been appointed as the convener of the committee. 

Within the next month, the committee will submit a clear action plan to the government for the sector's development.

This information was disclosed in an office order signed today (17 August) by Mohammad Mostafizur Rahman, senior assistant secretary of the health ministry. According to the order, the committee has been formed as part of implementing the Health Reform Commission's recommendations and the government's export diversification strategy.

The committee members include representatives from Bangladesh Bank, the commerce ministry, the finance ministry, the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA), the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at Dhaka University, the Department of Applied Chemistry at Jahangirnagar University, and two representatives from the Bangladesh API and Intermediaries Manufacturers Association.

Responsibilities of the committee

The office order clearly outlined the committee's scope of work, which is, formulating strategic policies to increase raw material production in the country; coordinating the implementation of recommendations made by the Health Reform Commission and those related to the Finance Division's export diversification strategy; identifying regulatory, financial, and technological barriers and making recommendations to address them; designing a sustainable incentive framework, including refinancing, rescheduling, tariff policy, VAT exemption, and export support; ensuring effective coordination among relevant government and private stakeholders; and assessing progress in achieving sectoral goals within set timelines and providing necessary policy guidance.