Patent law needs to be amended

Just over four months past being passed in parliament, Bangladesh Patent Law 2022 is deemed by experts to be in need of amendments.

Addressing a seminar yesterday, they highlighted upcoming challenges for the local pharmaceutical industry once Bangladesh makes the United Nations status graduation from a least developed to a developing country in 2026.

They also called for close collaboration between the government agencies concerned and the private sector in the amendment process.

"Bangladesh should engage lobbyist firms in World Trade Organization (WTO) for the continuation of Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) waiver for Bangladesh after graduation" said Salman F Rahman, private industry and investment adviser to the prime minister.

He also put emphasis on the quick operationalisaion of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) parks.

Rahman was addressing the seminar on "Preparedness of Pharmaceutical Sector for LDC Graduation" at National Economic Council conference room.

It was jointly organised by a Support to Sustainable Graduation Project (SSGP) of Economic Relations Division (ERD) and Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD).

Chairing the event, Sharifa Khan, secretary to the ERD, called for a stronger partnership between the public and private sectors for preparing the pharmaceutical industry for the graduation phase.

Zakia Sultana, secretary to the industries ministry, assured that the government would work in close collaboration with the private sector in amending the patent law.

Nazmul Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries, said the process of granting patents delineated in the law should take into consideration issues of affordability and public health.

Nihad Kabir, chairperson of the BUILD, emphasised on enhancing the country's legal expertise for effective formulation and implementation of the intellectual property rights related provisions.

Rizwan Rahman, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the government should set up a "biotech park" and "genome valley" to facilitate biotechnological research.

He also called for providing the pharmaceutical sector incentives similar to those for the garment sector.

In a presentation, Abdul Muktadir, managing director of Incepta Pharmaceuticals, called for holding negotiations with the WTO for extending the TRIPS waiver relating to pharmaceutical products for Bangladesh until January 1, 2033.

According to him, the TRIPS waiver for least developed countries was one of the key drivers of the exponential growth attained by the country's pharmaceutical industry over the last couple of decades.

In another presentation, Prof Mohammad Towhidul Islam of the University of Dhaka's law department said appropriate measures following an action-oriented roadmap were crucial for tapping into opportunities and shielding against the loss of waivers.