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Export Marketing
NO 8 - Oct 08 2021

ing medicines according to sales trends, e.g., what sells the most.
The medium and small pharmacies visited reported linkages with
a medical doctor. Their sales were therefore usually skewed to- To ensure rational and
wards that medical professional’s preferences. Several brands
of each drug, with variable quality levels, are on the market. In appropriate use of drugs
urban areas, the visited pharmacies tended to sell higher quality in Bangladesh was another
brands, whereas in more rural areas, pharmacies visited tended prime concern of the NDP.
to sell lower quality, lower cost brands. This may be due to a dis-
trict’s political sway influencing brand selection. The pharmacies But there has been no drug
visited tended to have brands associated with people who held use study in the country.
power in that district. Those more distant from the city center
also had increasingly more ayurvedic and herbal medicines. The
top 20 pharmaceutical manufacturing firms have established ex-
tensive sales and distribution networks. Each pharmacy visited
has 10-50 pharmaceutical firms supplying their medicines daily.
For example, Beximco Pharmaceuticals has 1,200 representa-
tives visiting pharmacies daily to take drug orders. Each pharma-
cy receives approximately 12- 15 Beximco shipments per month.
Acme Pharmaceuticals has 1,100 representatives and Square
Pharmaceuticals has 950 representatives visiting pharmacies.
None of the pharmacies visited restock any medicine that does
not sell well. The small pharmacies report only keeping a medi-
cine for a maximum of six months. A significant number of drug
consumers obtain drugs without a prescription. When consum-
ers lack a prescription, they will usually either ask a pharmacist
for a specific drug or describe their ailment to a pharmacist who
diagnoses the problem and recommends a drug on the spot.
Popular products include a variety of antibiotics, painkillers, and
gastric remedies. Consumers purchase one to ten tablets or cap-
sules at a time. The quantity of drugs purchased often depends
more on the consumer’s finances of than on the required dose of.
S. Most pharma companies tempt doctors with ‘gifts’: With a view
to popularizing their brands, most of the pharmaceutical compa-
nies in the country allegedly practice unethical drug promotion
alluring doctors with free samples and gifts to prescribe their

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