The Pharmacy Education program was first introduced to Lahore University in 1948. Just like many other things, the then West Pakistan would discriminate against East Pakistan, allowing only a handful of students to enroll for the subject. With the introduction of pharmaceutical companies manufacturing in the 50’s, the demand for pharmacists steadily increased in this region.
The need for qualified pharmacists led Dr. Abdul Jabbar, a USA-educated visionary from Dhaka University, to undertake the idea to start the Pharmacy department. After over a decade of struggle, when the Planning Commission approved his proposal in 1962, his efforts found fruits. In 1964, the Department of Pharmacy initiated itself with twenty students and very few faculties. Fast-forward six decades, the flourishing local industry has allowed this science to evolve into over 25 public and private universities, churning out hundred of thousands of professionals now employed at home and abroad.
The once struggling discipline, now identified by the government, as high priority industrial sector, is experiencing 24.63% annual growth as per Board of Investment (BOI) figures. With the market doubling only in four years, the billion-dollar industry is poised to grow to $2.00 billion by the end of this year.
As Ahmed Kamrul Alam, the General Manager of Square Pharmaceuticals has articulated, the nation is now 98% self-sufficient. Nevertheless, we must work on building an API park, manufacturing raw materials, and backward linkages. BOI data also suggests that the WTO TRIPS agreement permits Bangladesh to reverse-engineer patented generics till 2021 to sell locally and export to markets around the world. At present Bangladesh is exporting to more than 83 different countries of the world. Another 2014 studies show that pharmaceutical export from Bangladesh was recording 25.5% growth annually over the last seven years.
Nevertheless, rubbing salt in the already existing sorry state in the health service delivery sector, most of the drugs including antibiotics are being sold over the counter. The line between prescription and non-prescription drugs is vague due to lack of policy implementation and knowledge. This is resulting in increased antibiotic resistance, ultimately allowing new strains of deadly bacteria threatening us with diseases that are more powerful and difficult to treat. The industry and healthcare that we have struggled to build should not crumble as a result of such negligent practices. Therefore, strict guidelines, as well as adequate awareness is needed in this sector. Otherwise, a nation aiming to achieve tremendous success in producing and disseminating affordable medications will end up spending much more than it could imagine battling infections caused by multi-drug resistant pathogens.
