Daily Star Nov 4, 2009: Most pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh fail to maintain the Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs) set by WHO, according to a Unicef audit report. A Unicef-expert team conducted the audit on 17 units of manufacturing plants of its enlisted and potential supplier companies in the country. According to the inspection on cGMPS, these companies failed to show necessary documents of their organograms, job descriptions, qualifications, experiences, skills and training of people.The World Health Organisation (WHO) version of cGMPs is used by pharmaceuticals, medical device and food manufacturers, as they produce and test products that people use.“Lax sampling and dispensing labelling, specification were found in the report,” DDA Assistant Director AA Salim Barami told a seminar in a joint presentation with ABM Anwarul Hussain, director (industrial quality and compliance) of Sanofi Aventis Ltd. The Directorate of Drug Administration (DDA) organised the seminar titled \"Lessons Learned from Unicef Inspection on cGMP,\" at the CIRDAP auditorium with support from WHO.Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI) Adviser Nazmul Hassan said the government should set a minimum standard for local pharmaceutical companies in line with the international drug testing organisations so that they can ensure quality products.Novartis Bangladesh Director (technical operation) Munshi Siraj Uddin said it is important to have a commitment to maintain the quality of products.

State Minister for Health Mozibur Rahman urged the leading manufacturers to build a combined strategy to develop a world-class central drug-testing laboratory to maintain the quality of products. “The government can\'t afford it without cooperation of the private sector,” he said.Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque also spoke.

According to officials, there are 246 allopathic, 201 ayurvedic, 268 Unani, 79 homeopathic and four herbal medicine companies in the country.