Mkt382

Analyst:

Khandakar Safwan Saad

safwan@bracepl.com

(880) 173 035 7779

An Overview of the Pharmaceutical Sector in Bangladesh

May 2012

Introduction

The pharmaceutical market in Bangladesh is pretty small compared to the

population size of the country, mainly because of the lack of spending power

of the population. Pharmaceutical spending is also amongst the lowest in the

world in per capita terms. Healthcare expenditures consist of only 3.35% of

GDP. However, increased awareness of healthcare, increase in per capita

income, emergence of private healthcare services and the government’s

increased expenditure in this sector, together with other factors, have caused

the demand to rise in recent years. The sector is also protected from external

competition as imports are completely restricted for similar drugs that are

manufactured locally. This sector reports provides an overview of the

pharmaceutical sector in Bangladesh and highlights the top performers that

are listed in the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).

Pharmaceutical Sector in Bangladesh

There are about 250 licensed

pharmaceutical companies in

Bangladesh. The industry contributes

1% to the country's GDP and is the

third largest industry in terms of

contribution to government revenue

Pharmaceutical sector is technologically the most developed manufacturing

industries in Bangladesh and the third largest industry in terms of contribution

to government’s revenue. The industry contributes about 1% of the total

GDP. There are about 250 licensed pharmaceutical manufacturers in the

country; however, currently a little over 100 companies are in operation. It is

highly concentrated as top 20 companies produce 85% of the revenue.

According to IMS, a US-based market research firm, the retail market size is

estimated to be around BDT 84 billion as on 2011.

The market is dominated by branded

generics, accounting for 85% of the

total sales in the country

Bangladesh pharmaceutical...