National strategy for pharma industry soon, says Muhith  

A “national strategy” will soon be formulated to take Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical industry to the next level and achieve self-sufficiency in the production of biosimilars and vaccines, State Minister for Health Dr M A Muhith has said.

He also said the government would provide necessary policy support to build a knowledge-based economy and create high-quality employment.

He made the remarks as the chief guest at a roundtable titled “From Generics to Biosimilars and Vaccines: Developing Bangladesh’s Biopharmaceutical Sector Towards a Bio-economy” in the capital on Sunday. BioTED Somru Bioscience organised the event, with Genex as a partner.

The state minister said Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical sector had developed through a long historical process. It was now necessary to take the sector to a higher level through biosimilars, vaccines and biotechnology and view it as a major driver of the national economy.

He said the basic infrastructure for biopharmaceutical and vaccine research, maintaining international standards and scale, must be developed within the next three to five years. The transformation would require around 10,000 trained and skilled human resources. The government was prioritising high-end employment in science and research, rather than only general employment, he added.