Nevian Life Science PLC, formerly Novartis Bangladesh Limited, held an event, celebrating a milestone by commencing medicine exports to Canada, at Nevian’s manufacturing plant of Tongi in Gazipur on Wednesday.
Health and family welfare minister Sardar Sakhawat Husain joined the event virtually as chief guest, said a press release.
The event was also attended, among others, by Gazipur 2lawmaker M Manjurul Karim Rony and Gazipur City Corporation administrator Shawkat Hossain Sarkar.
Nevian’s managing director Musawath Shams Zahedee delivered welcome speech at the event.
He said, ‘When we embarked on our journey as Nevian, we pledged to uphold the quality standards of Novartis in Bangladesh. Today, through exporting medicines to a country like Canada on behalf of a multinational company, that commitment has been fulfilled.’
Sardar Sakhawat Husain said, ‘Nevian’s initiative, in partnership with Switzerland-based Sandoz, can serve as a role model for achieving rapid growth in this sector.’
The export initiative has begun under a contract manufacturing arrangement with Sandoz AG headquartered in Switzerland.
In the first phase, Sandoz Canada Inc is importing multiple pharmaceutical products manufactured at Nevian’s Tongi plant against purchase orders from Sandoz AG, Switzerland.
Under the same agreement, several countries across Europe, North America and South America under the Sandoz network are expected to be added as future export destinations.
This marks the first time Bangladesh has exported pharmaceutical products to highly regulated North American markets, including Canada, on behalf of a leading multinational pharmaceutical company.
Following the recent transition of Novartis Bangladesh into Nevian, the company’s shareholders described this achievement as a testament to Nevian’s internationally recognised manufacturing capabilities and quality standards.
With the commencement of medicine exports to Canada from Nevian’s European Union GMP-certified factory at Tongi, the company has achieved the first major milestone of its new journey.
In his remarks, chairman of Radiant Pharmaceuticals, Md Nasser Shahrear Zahedee, said that the foundation of Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical industry was established through the Pharmacy Ordinance enacted during the presidency of Ziaur Rahman in 1976, which paved the way for Bangladesh’s self-sufficiency in medicines.
He further stated that the policies and plans introduced by former prime minister Khaleda Zia in 1994 for the development of the pharmaceutical sector would now be reinstated and modernised by the current government to further advance public health protection and the growth of the pharmaceutical industry.
Greetings were also delivered virtually by health secretary Md Kamruzzaman Chowdhury and Sampson Lam, supply planning specialist at Sandoz Canada.
