Pharma experts warn of raw materials shortage threatening medicine supply post-LDC graduation

Bangladesh's heavy reliance on imported active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) is straining foreign exchange and fueling fears of higher medicine prices after LDC graduation in 2026.

As local pharmaceutical companies currently meet nearly 98% of the country's medicine demand, experts at a seminar called for urgent policy support to increase domestic API production and remove obstacles facing the sector. 

The seminar, titled "Policy and Implementation Strategies for Developing the API Industry", held at the Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) today (12 November), focused on three primary recommendations: provide incentives for local API production, form a permanent taskforce to coordinate industry development, and ensure a reliable gas supply to the API industrial park in Munshiganj. 

Experts agreed that without immediate policy interventions, Bangladesh risks falling behind regional competitors while facing rising medicine costs at home.

Dr Syed Abdul Hamid, professor at the Health Economics Institute and AHRB coordinator, emphasised that expanding local API production would stabilise the medicine supply, reduce production costs, and keep drugs affordable. 

He suggested financial incentives such as refinancing facilities, low-interest loans, and credit guarantees through the Ministry of Finance and Bangladesh Bank, proposing up to 20% support similar to schemes in India and China.

Industry representatives pointed to structural and regulatory barriers that have slowed development. 

Abdul Muktadir, president of the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI) and MD of Incepta Pharmaceuticals Ltd, said nearly 70% of companies have faced negative growth since 2017 due to the government not adjusting medicine prices. 

He highlighted two major challenges for the API sector: fuel shortages and lengthy approval processes for solvent intermediates. "The Department of Narcotics Control must streamline approvals within 15 days," he urged.

BAPI Secretary General Dr Zakir Hossain added that government policy support is crucial for the sector. Despite plots being allocated for an API industrial park in 2018, infrastructure remains uncertain, with electricity expected only in 2025. 

He criticised the lack of stakeholder representation, saying administrative delays, such as plot handovers, exchanges, and narcotics approvals, waste valuable time.

Saifur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh API & Intermediates Manufacturers Association (BAIMA), stressed that Bangladesh must compete with India and China. "A permanent taskforce is essential to address the industry's challenges in a coordinated manner," he said, noting that the finance, health, and central bank authorities are now working on API development.

Jamal Uddin, managing director of Gonoshasthaya Basic Chemicals Ltd, warned that post-LDC graduation, competition will intensify. "Without local API production, survival is impossible. Long-term public-private partnerships could make Bangladesh self-reliant in this sector."

BAPI Treasurer Muhammad Halimuzzaman shared his own challenges, saying his company took a BDT 490 crore loan two years ago to set up a plant, paying BDT 20 lakh daily in interest while struggling with gas shortages. "At this rate, no one will invest in the API park," he said.

ATM Saiful Islam, Additional Secretary of the Health Services Division, highlighted the strategic importance of the pharmaceutical industry for national security, public health, economic growth, and employment. He called for an uninterrupted supply of raw materials to local companies.

The seminar concluded with three key recommendations: providing incentives for local API production, establishing a permanent taskforce for industry development, and ensuring an uninterrupted gas supply to the API industrial park in Munshiganj.

The event was organised by Alliance for Health Reforms, Bangladesh (AHRB), and chaired by BMU Clinical Oncology Department head Professor Dr. Syed Akram Hossain.