Eskayef finds road to EU market

AM Faruque

Eskayef Bangladesh Ltd, one of the leading manufacturers and exporters of pharmaceutical products, has won accreditation from the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for its new plant in Tongi.
Eskayef is the third company to obtain the MHRA certificate after Square Pharma and Reneta.
“The accreditation will allow Eskayef export tablets, capsules and granules (pellets) to the UK and other European countries,” said AM Faruque, managing director of Eskayef Bangladesh.
“This is a milestone which provides an opportunity for the company to export its products to European countries. The opportunity will let the company develop itself as a global supplier and enhance its contribution to foreign currency earnings,” said Faruque.
The MHRA approval is one of the toughest to win, he said. "Approval will enable Eskayef to market and distribute its pharmaceutical products in the UK and other EU countries."
“This approval will also help Eskayef in its effort to enter the highly regulated markets of Australia, South Africa and GCC countries," Faruque said.
"And we have already started preparing for registration of our products in those countries."
Evaluation for MHRA accreditation is a complex process. Inspectors from the UK agency inspected Eskayef's plant, machinery and equipment, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) system, purified water system and effluent treatment system.
The inspectors also audited the design of the company's manufacturing plant and found Eskayef compliant with the UK's good manufacturing practice.
“MHRA certification marks just the beginning of our journey. We are planning to obtain the US FDA certification and have started our groundwork,” said the Eskayef Bangladesh MD.
Eskayef is one of the youngest, but fastest growing, companies in both local and international markets.
The company exports pharmaceutical products to around 15 countries across four continents.
Faruque believes Bangladesh has the ability to grab a larger share of the international market for pharmaceutical products because of low manufacturing costs.
The WTO agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights has enabled Bangladesh to manufacture generic drugs for exporting to other less developed countries.
The country earned $32.97 million by exporting pharmaceutical products to around 67 countries in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, registering a 60 percent increase in export earnings from the pharmaceutical sector over the same period a year ago.

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