Bangladesh offers to sell drugs to Philippines at 35%-40% saving

An offer was made during last week's Bangladesh Pharmaceutical Expo 2010 to sell cheaper quality medicines to the Philippines which it said could bring down local medicine cost by 35% to 40%, reports the Filipino newspaper Manila Bulletin. Taking place in Paranaque City, the exhibition showcased some 14 Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies which are willing to tie up with local manufacturers to enable their medicines to gain entry into the Philippine market.

'We believe we'll find a place in the Philippine market. Bangladesh and the Philippines have bilateral trade. Both countries have many products for exports to offer to each other,' said Bangladeshi Ambassador to the Philippines Ikhtiar Chowdhury.

According to the envoy, medicines produced in Bangladesh ' from paracetamol to cancer drugs ' are cheaper due to their minimal production cost, adding that they also produce their own raw materials.