Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd also known as Beximco Pharma, is a

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field an ...

company in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. It is part of the

Beximco Bangladesh Export Import Company Limited (Bangla Transliteration: বাংলাদেশ এক্সপোর্ট ইমপোর্ট কোম্পানি লিমিটেড, romanised: ''Bānglādēsh ēkspōrṭ impōrṭ kō ...

Group of Companies.

Corporate history

Beximco Pharma was founded in 1976 and started operations in 1980, manufacturing products under the licenses of Bayer AG of Germany and

Upjohn The Upjohn Company was a pharmaceutical manufacturing firm founded in 1886 in Hastings, Michigan, by Dr. William E. Upjohn who was an 1875 graduate of the University of Michigan medical school. The company was originally formed to make ''friabl ...

Inc. of United States. Today Beximco Pharma manufactures and markets its own branded generics for several diseases including AIDS,

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...

, hypertension, and

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

for both national and international markets. It was the first drug company from Bangladesh to sell its products in the US. In May 2020, the company introduced the world's first generic

remdesivir Remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, Text was copied from this source which is © European Medicines Agency. Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged. is a broad-spectrum antiviral medication developed by the ...

for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

treatment. Beximco Pharma became the first company to obtain production and marketing authorization for Molnupiravir, the first and only specific oral anti covid drug in Bangladesh along with Eskayef Pharmaceuticals. Beximco Pharma's branded generic version of

molnupiravir Molnupiravir, sold under the brand name Lagevrio, is an antiviral medication that inhibits the replication of certain RNA viruses. It is used to treat COVID-19 in those infected by SARS-CoV-2. It is taken by mouth. Molnupiravir is a prodrug of ...

is being marketed as Emorivir.

Factories

Beximco Pharma manufacturing facilities are spread across a site located in

Dhaka, Bangladesh Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

. The facilities consist of a number of purpose-built plants, including a new Oral Solid Dosage (OSD) plant. The site includes manufacturing facilities as well as a research laboratory and a number of warehouses. The plant and machinery of the facilities were designed, produced and installed by partners from Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy and the United Kingdom, amongst others.

Exports

On August, 2007, Beximco exported its

medicines A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, the 5th country of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (

ASEAN ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...

) to import Beximco's drugs. Beximco Managing Director Nazmul Hassan said that

exports An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

to the Philippines include metered dose inhalers, and

nasal spray Nasal sprays are used to deliver medications locally in the nasal cavities or systemically. They are used locally for conditions such as nasal congestion and allergic rhinitis. In some situations, the nasal delivery route is preferred for syst ...

s, and other medications. The Philippine

market ($1.3 billion in 2007), is highly dependent on imported medicines.

References

External links

* * * {{cite web , url=http://www.pharmamirror.com/knowledge-base/company-profile/beximco-pharma-limited-dhaka/ , title=Beximco Pharma's Profile on Pharma Mirror Magazine
Profile of Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd
BEXIMCO group Pharmaceutical companies of Bangladesh Pharmaceutical companies established in 1980 Manufacturing companies based in Dhaka Companies listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange