Gopalganj plant to go on production October next year
EDCL to meet 100pc pharma demand of state-run health centres, says CEO
Ali Manash
Essential Drugs Company Limited (EDCL), the state-owned pharmaceutical manufacturing company, will make a huge leap after the completion of its third pharmaceutical plant at Gopalganj, which will propel EDCLs production capacity to meet 100 per cent demand of government health facilities and more to export drugs in the global market.
It is huge. By establishing the Gopalganj project, EDCL will be able to supply contraceptive pills and injectables, different types of IV fluids as well as produce penicillin products, Prof. Dr Ehsanul Kabir Jaglul, managing director and CEO of EDCL, told The Independent. EDCL will be able to manufacture contraceptive products worth Tk 15,000 lakh in the first year of production and it will be increased gradually, he added.
The Gopalganj plant is expected to go on operation by October next year, the EDCL CEO said.
EDCL is determined to support the government to strengthen health services for the poor, save foreign currency and create employment opportunities for around 1,500 people, Jaglul said.
Under his leadership, the company had exported drugs worth about USD 1 million to Sri Lanka this January and has plans to increase the export basket in future.
Describing the activities of the state-owned firm, the chief executive said its main task was to manufacture quality products and distributing these across the country as per the requirement of hospitals, as directed by the governments health department.
We produce most of the products required by the government at EDCL factories, while the remaining are produced by private factories, he said.
EDCL, however, monitors the production at the private factories to ensure quality. All materials, including raw and packaging materials, are also supplied by it.
The firm has set a sales target of Tk 495 crore. The EDCL MD was very hopeful of achieving the target this year.
In the last fiscal year, the company sold pharmaceutical products worth Tk 409 crore to the government, yielding a gross profit of Tk. 69 crore and net profits, excluding depreciation cost, of Tk. 48 crore, he added.
Jaglul said the state-owned enterprise has achieved a number of successes, setting milestones in the industry within a short span of time, which was possible due to the efforts of all the officials and employees of the company.
A team of around 2,900 accountants, administrators, biologists, chemists, engineers, manufacturing professionals, micro-biologists, planners, sales and marketing personnel, scientists and technicians are working together at EDCL to achieve our goal, he said.
Jaglul was appointed the MD and CEO of EDCL on October 22, 2014. His tenure has been extended till 2018.
Since joining EDCL, I have been working to refurbish the companys image. I also took the initiative to form a pay structure for our employees and also ensured their job security as well as resolved internal problems, he said.
I also successfully stopped percentage business (bribery) in procurement or tender for constructions. Thanks to this, cost of procurement has decreased, he added.
Now, the best competitors get work orders for procurement and construction as the tasks are awarded through tenders, which was unimaginable before, he said. The company has also created the opportunity for trade union practices. It is also conducting corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes now, he said.
The modernisation of the Dhaka factory is going on. We are planning to acquire 10 acres of land next to the Gopalganj plant to build staff quarters, a school, an auditorium and other facilities for the plants employees, Jaglul said.
