Pharmaceuticals shipment from Bangladesh grew 22.21 cent year-on-year in the first half of the current fiscal year on the back of continuous addition of anti-coronavirus drugs to the export basket, quality improvement and policy support.

Medicines worth $105.50 million were exported in the July-December period, up from $86.33 million in the same period a year ago, data from the Export Promotion Bureau showed.

One important addition to the export basket in recent years has been anti-coronavirus drugs as the countries scrambled to find solutions to treat Covid-19 patients when the health crisis was termed as a pandemic in March 2020 by the World Health Organisation.

The continuous shipment of anti-viral drugs -- Remdesivir and Favipiravir -- used to treat coronavirus patients has expanded the export basket of the pharma sector.

Now, around 20 companies from Bangladesh, including Eskayef, Beximco, Incepta, Beacon, Square, Popular, Opsonin, ACI, Renata, and Ziska Pharmaceuticals export Covid-19 drugs.

Mohammad Mujahidul Islam, executive director for marketing & sales at Eskayef Pharmaceuticals Ltd, said although the pandemic has brought many challenges, the company has kept the supply of its regular medicines uninterrupted across the globe.

Apart from its regular basket of products, the company has contributed tremendously to the foreign sales of anti-coronavirus drugs as well. It introduced Remivir, the first global generic version of anti-coronavirus drug Remdesivir, which was manufactured by US company Gilead Sciences Inc.

"We have served Covid-19 patients in 43 countries with Remivir," Islam said.

Eskayef has also exported the first generic version of oral anti-Covid medicine Molnupiravir under the brand Monuvir.

Recently, Eskayef launched the first-generation generic version of US-FDA-approved oral anti-Covid-19 combination drug "Nirmatrelvir and Ritonavir" under the brand name "Paxovir" as its sole purpose of serving the humanity.

"Our pharmaceuticals industry is proving its capability by manufacturing the generic version of anti-coronavirus drugs and supplying them globally. This is helping us boost the export growth of the sector," said Monjurul Alam, director for global business at Beacon Pharmaceuticals.

"It was the result of timely decision of the government and courageous initiative of the local manufacturers."

Beacon, however, is not taking new export orders for anti-coronavirus drugs as it has decided to cater to the local demand.

Alam thinks the pharmaceuticals sector will achieve significant growth in exports this year as companies are increasingly getting registration for new drugs and in new destinations.

Bangladesh also exports high-value drugs.

For example, oncology products account for at least 20 per cent of the total export earnings from the local pharmaceuticals industry.

Rabbur Reza, chief operating officer of Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd, says the pharma export value is gradually improving, and the growth will be faster in the coming years.

"This is because we continue to enter and consolidate our position in the emerging and developed countries."

The exports are not without challenges.

"We are facing challenges, especially in terms of rising costs of many raw materials and freight costs," said Reza.

For example, the cost of shipping a 40-foot container unit has eased some 15 per cent from record highs above $11,000 touched in September, according to the Freightos FBX index. But before the pandemic, the same container cost just $1,300, reported Reuters in December.

Bangladesh exports more than 2,000 types of pharmaceuticals products to over 150 countries. Of the total, antibiotic and oncology products account for 50 per cent of the items, said the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceuticals Industries (BAPI).

SM Shafiuzzaman, managing director of Hudson Pharmaceuticals and secretary general of the BAPI, says the government is placing emphasis on the sales of pharmaceutical products abroad to raise exports.

Bangladesh's exports are largely concentrated in garments, which made up about 85 per cent of the annual external sales of $38.76 billion in the last fiscal year.