Chattogram Bureau :
British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline is pulling the plug on its pharmaceutical business in Bangladesh citing ‘commercial unsustainability’.
The GSK Bangladesh board of directors is going to propose the closure following a business review and expecting to complete the process by the end of this year, it said in a statement on Thursday.
The Bangladesh entity of the firm will continue its ongoing consumer healthcare business which is not impacted by the changes in the pharmaceutical operations, it said.
Its consumer healthcare products in Bangladesh include nutritional drinks Horlicks, Maltova, Boost, Viva and Glaxose-D, Sensodyne toothpaste, and Horlicks Biscuit.
The firm pledged ‘appropriate support’ to over 1,000 of its employees at ‘this very challenging time’.
GSK Vaccines, which are purchased via the UN’s wing for children UNICEF and funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, will continue to be available in Bangladesh, it added.
GSK Bangladesh staffers at its pharmaceutical plant in Chattogram’s Faujdarhat demonstrated against the decision to close operations.The factory has around 500 officials and workers while 500 others are engaged in sales and marketing jobs across Bangladesh, according to GSK Employees’ Union President Mohammad Ilias.Ilias claimed the firm is closing the pharmaceutical business despite making profits last year and recent investment of around Tk 1.5 billion for renovation.The union’s General Secretary Mohammad Azam said there was no work at the factory on Wednesday and Thursday.
British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline is pulling the plug on its pharmaceutical business in Bangladesh citing ‘commercial unsustainability’.
The GSK Bangladesh board of directors is going to propose the closure following a business review and expecting to complete the process by the end of this year, it said in a statement on Thursday.
The Bangladesh entity of the firm will continue its ongoing consumer healthcare business which is not impacted by the changes in the pharmaceutical operations, it said.
Its consumer healthcare products in Bangladesh include nutritional drinks Horlicks, Maltova, Boost, Viva and Glaxose-D, Sensodyne toothpaste, and Horlicks Biscuit.
The firm pledged ‘appropriate support’ to over 1,000 of its employees at ‘this very challenging time’.
GSK Vaccines, which are purchased via the UN’s wing for children UNICEF and funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, will continue to be available in Bangladesh, it added.
GSK Bangladesh staffers at its pharmaceutical plant in Chattogram’s Faujdarhat demonstrated against the decision to close operations.The factory has around 500 officials and workers while 500 others are engaged in sales and marketing jobs across Bangladesh, according to GSK Employees’ Union President Mohammad Ilias.Ilias claimed the firm is closing the pharmaceutical business despite making profits last year and recent investment of around Tk 1.5 billion for renovation.The union’s General Secretary Mohammad Azam said there was no work at the factory on Wednesday and Thursday.
