The New Nation - Internet Edition

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

Renata Limited, a local pharmaceutical company sent its first shipment of medicines to the UK on November 11 last. The Potent Product Facility (PPF) of the company received accreditation by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), UK last year.

The PPF located at Mirpur, Dhaka is dedicated for manufacturing hormones, steroids, oncology, and immunosuppressant products. There are no more than five such facilities of this standard in the whole of Asia.

Renata, along with four other pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh has been in the forefront of a quiet revolution in manufacturing standards that is taking place in Bangladesh. So far Renata, Square, and Eskayef have been approved by MHRA, while Incepta and Beximco have been accredited by EMEA (Austria) and TGA (Australia) respectively.

Apart from India and China there is probably no other country in Asia that can boast having five internationally accredited manufacturing facilities.

Currently Bangladesh exports medicines to 72 countries. The export base although small is growing at nearly 50 percent per annum.

The UK is among a growing list of countries to where Renata has been expanding its markets. In the last 12 months the company has entered markets in Guyana, Hong Kong, Jordan, and the Philippines.

Earlier this year the Ceylon National Chamber of Industries awarded Renata the Gold Trophy for its performance in the pharmaceutical market of Sri Lanka. Two Renata brands, viz., Zithrin (Azithromycin) and Celox-R (Celecoxib) are leaders in their respective product categories in Sri Lanka.

Renata is quoted on the Dhaka Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of approximately Taka 8.6 billion.