A three-day Asia Pharma Expo-2007 (APE) will begin Dhaka on 11 December aiming to explore the vast business opportunities in the pharmaceutical sector. The APE show has already established a new landmark for the pharma professionals all over the world. IN 2005, Bangladesh also hosted the APE 2005 in Dhaka.

A total of 400 companies from 25 countries will take part in the event, arranged by Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI). APE 2007 is being sponsored by Eskayef Bangladesh Ltd and Beximco Pharmaceuticals in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Export Promotion Bureau.

Member companies of BAPI are currently manufacturing 96 per cent of the country’s total requirement of drugs and are engaged in exporting to nearly 70 countries in the world. Bangladesh is the largest producer of formulation products among the least developed countries (LDC’s), and has 18 per cent share in the global market.

Bangladesh is the only LDC having a strong manufacturing base in pharmaceuticals. This has created a great potential for production of drugs locally to capitalise the post-2005 opportunities. The pharmaceutical industry is the second largest taxpayer to the country’s exchequer. Export earnings from pharmaceutical sector stood at Tk 3.0 billion during July-January period of fiscal 2006-07.

Asia Pharma expositions are the only common platform of the South Asian pharmaceutical market for the pharmaceutical-allied suppliers from India, China, Taiwan, Europe, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Japan; and therefore, each Asia Pharma Expo becomes the landmark event and meaningful business meeting point to interact with the entire South Asian pharma community.