Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Friday said the Health Ministry is extending no support for the local efforts to produce Covid-19 vaccines as it has more interest in import and procurement of foreign vaccines.

“As the ministry has huge interest to import and produce foreign vaccines, it’s reluctant about extending support to efforts to locally produce vaccines. So, ‘Bongavax’ didn’t get permission for trial, though three months have already elapsed,” he said.

In a statement sent to the media, the JP chairman also said Hussain Muhammad Ershad framed the Drug Policy in 1982. Only the locally-produced drug could meet 16 percent of domestic demand at that time, he said.

Now locally-produced pharmaceutical items are being exported to more than 100 countries across the globe after meeting 97 percent of domestic demand, thanks to the drug policy, he said.

Many world-standard pharmaceutical companies were set up in Bangladesh, said GM Quader.

He said Bangladeshi company Globe Biotech is trying to develop a vaccine, Bongvax. The single dose vaccine also achieved success in producing antibodies in animal bodies. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has already enlisted it.

He said the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) gave permission to Globe Biotech Limited to manufacture their Covid-19 vaccine, Bongavax, for clinical trials. But Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC) has yet to give the permission. This is why the clinical trial of Bongavax can’t be conducted.

“If Bongavax gets success (in clinical trials), Bangladesh can export the vaccines fulfilling local demand in the critical period. So, it’s urgently needed to provide permission for the clinical trial of Bongavax,” said the JP chief.