Quietly, Square Pharma consolidates its position as Bangladesh’s No. 1 drug maker

Square Pharmaceuticals, the leader of Bangladesh’s Tk 20,000 crore pharmaceutical marker, posted profit growth of 8.7 per cent to Tk 383.8 crore between October and December, on the back of heightened requirement for medication brought on by the unprecedented public health crisis.

This takes Square Pharma’s profit in the first half of its 2020-21 financial year, which runs from July to June, to Tk 777 crore, up 12.8 per cent from a year earlier.

Square Pharma’s taking dwarf those of its peer Beximco Pharma, which has been making headlines left, right and centre amid the pandemic.

Back in May, when the world was gripped by fear of the coronavirus, Beximco grabbed headlines globally for being the first company to market remdesivir, the antiviral drug that showed promise then in treating COVID-19 patients. 

Three months later, it announced a tie-up with Indian Serum Institute to be the “exclusive distributor” of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in Bangladesh.

All the good press meant Beximco Pharma posted stellar results: its profit in the second half of 2020 stood at Tk 222.6 crore.

Still, it could not match the figures of Square Pharma, which went about its business quietly and is probably heading towards a record year in profit.

Shares of Square Pharma, which has been listed since 1995, gained 26.7 per cent amid the pandemic.

In Bangladesh, the first confirmed cases of Covid-19 were announced on March 8, when Square Pharma’s stock price stood at Tk 186.4. On Thursday, they closed at Tk 236.2, up 0.7 per cent from the previous day.

Square Pharma could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, Acme Lab and Ibn Sina, two listed drugmakers, saw profit growth in the last quarter of 2020.

Acme Lab’s profit between July and December stood at Tk 79.2 crore, up 2.1 per cent.

Ibn Sina did better: its profit grew 14.9 per cent in the first half of its 2020-21 financial year to Tk 26.2 crore.