The state-owned pharmaceutical company, Essential Drugs Company Limited (EDCL), which was earlier plagued by irregularities, corruption, and mismanagement for a long time, has started to turn around. The company had been causing losses of billions of taka in the past because of purchasing raw materials at high prices in a non-transparent process through syndicated tenders, unusable machinery, and excess manpower, a press release said.
But today the landscape has changed dramatically in the past few months. The institution is now reporting relief after emerging from the depths of corruption.
The new Managing Director (MD) Samad Mridha took charge and made it clear that there would be no room for corruption and inefficient manpower in the organization any more.
After the reform process began under his leadership, EDCL has restored transparency in the tender process and reduced production costs by laying off unnecessary manpower, reducing materials costs, increasing production and reducing over time.
As a result, the prices of 33 essential medicines have been reduced by up to 50 percent. The company is working on other products to reduce its price, government can serve more patients with same health budget . In addition, the company is now able to provide services more effectively than before due to increased production.
Earlier, the audit report for the 2019-20 fiscal year revealed a loss of about Tk 32 crore in EDCL due to ineffective equipment and failed projects alone.
In addition, the production of important antibiotics was halted for a long time due to tender complications. Two machines at Dhaka, saline & contraceptive project at Gopalgonj not used more than 3 years caused financial losses exceeding 250 million taka.
In addition, the High Court had ordered an investigation into the company for corruption worth Tk 477 crore and 32 irregularities. In February 2025, the ACC conducted a raid on the company.
EDCL has taken several steps to overcome this situation and restore its image.
EDCL’s major achievement is reducing the prices of medicines. This is the first time in the company’s history that the prices of medicines have been reduced.
As a result of financial transparency and cost control, EDCL has recently reduced the prices of 33 medicines by up to 50 percent. This will not only benefit the people but also save Tk 116 crore annually.
The list of essential medicines to be reduced in price includes Omeprazole capsules for gastric ulcers, Ketorolac injections for pain, various antibiotics for pneumonia and bacterial infections (such as Ceftriaxone and Ceftazidime), and Montelukast tablets for asthma.
The prices of 22 out of 32 medicines listed for healthcare services, especially for rural populations, have been reduced, which will make medical services more accessible in rural health centers.
A large portion of the company’s expenses have been spent on excess and unnecessary manpower. The new management has eliminated more than 722 employees in one fell swoop. This has reduced administrative costs and increased efficiency.
Managing Director Samad Mridha said that as part of the restructuring process, about 722 unnecessary and inefficient employees have been laid off. In addition, the process of laying off more than 1,000 more personnel is underway.
“The previous administration hired extra manpower due to political influence. We had a room here called the ‘Rohingya Room’, where employees were seated and paid. We don’t want to keep such unnecessary manpower to save the company.”
As a result of the reforms, the company has increased its production and produced about 590 million taka more medicines this year than the previous year that helps to regularly supplying medicines to government hospitals and rural health centers.
Major changes have also been made in the procurement of raw materials, where previously raw materials were purchased on a syndicate basis, now raw materials are being purchased at competitive prices through open tenders. The new process is saving about 18 crore taka every month.
EDCL has already launched a third-generation birth control pill and saline production unit.
Authorities said the trial run of saline has been completed and the new saline will be available in the market in a few days. In addition, to reduce dependence on government drug supplies, the company has embarked on a plan to stop toll manufacturing and increase its own production capacity by 70 to 90%.
40 acres of land have been allocated to set up a state-of-the-art EDCL as per FDA guidelines, Vaccine project and Anti-Venom production factory in Sirajdikhan, Munshiganj.
The establishment of these plant will bring self-sufficiency in the country’s medicine, vaccine and anti venom production and reduce dependence on foreign countries for important life-saving medicines.
Health experts say these steps by Essential Drugs Company will further strengthen the government’s healthcare system, which could be an example for other institutions as well.
