Gazipur: Health Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Husain on Wednesday praised Nevian’s achievement in exporting medicines to Canada, highlighting the pharmaceutical industry as a crucial sector for diversifying Bangladesh’s export portfolio. ‘Nevian’s initiative, in partnership with Switzerland-based Sandoz, can serve as a role model for achieving rapid growth in this sector,’ he remarked while participating in an event virtually.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the event was hosted at Nevian’s manufacturing plant in Tongi and attended by senior government officials, representatives from regulatory authorities, and local public representatives. Among the attendees were Gazipur-2 MP M Manjurul Karim Rony and Gazipur City Corporation Administrator Shawkat Hossain Sarkar.
Nevian Life Science PLC, formerly known as Novartis Bangladesh Limited, celebrated a significant milestone in Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical export sector by commencing medicine exports to Canada. This export initiative is part of a contract manufacturing arrangement with Sandoz AG, a leading generic pharmaceutical company based in Switzerland.
In the initial phase, Sandoz Canada Inc. is importing multiple pharmaceutical products manufactured at Nevian’s Tongi plant, based on purchase orders from Sandoz AG, Switzerland. Under the same agreement, other countries in Europe, North America, and South America under the Sandoz network are anticipated to become future export destinations.
This achievement marks the first time Bangladesh has exported pharmaceutical products to highly regulated North American markets, including Canada, on behalf of a leading multinational pharmaceutical company, according to the company.
Nevian’s Managing Director Musawath Shams Zahedee stated that when they embarked on their journey as Nevian, they pledged to uphold the quality standards of Novartis in Bangladesh. ‘Today, through exporting medicines to a country like Canada on behalf of a multinational company, that commitment has been fulfilled. Nevian is now the first company in Bangladesh to engage in multi-country partnership-based contract manufacturing and exports.’
Chairman of Radiant Pharmaceuticals, Md Nasser Shahrear Zahedee, noted that the foundation of Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical industry was established through the historic Pharmacy Ordinance enacted during the presidency of Ziaur Rahman in 1976, which paved the way for the country’s self-sufficiency in medicines. He mentioned that the policies and plans introduced by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in 1994 for the development of the pharmaceutical sector would now be reinstated and modernized by the current nationalist government to further advance public health protection and the growth of the pharmaceutical industry.