Bangladesh private healthcare sector

[Maisson]

US investment giant to acquire Dhaka Apollo for Tk1,000 crore

The acquisition will be completed within the first half of 2020

Apollo Hospital Dhaka is set to join the network of Evercare hospitals operating across South Asia. Photo: TBS
An American investment firm has signed a deal to acquire control of Apollo Hospitals Dhaka at a cost of around Tk1,000 crore.

With this acquisition by the Evercare Group, STS Holdings Ltd, the current operator of Apollo Hospitals Dhaka, will join the network of Evercare hospitals operating across South Asia, including India, Pakistan, and Africa. 

The Evercare Group is wholly owned by The Evercare Health Fund, a $1 billion emerging markets healthcare fund managed by The Rise Fund, which is the impact investment platform of the US-based Texas Pacific Group. 

The United Kingdom's development financier CDC Group and some other significant investors are financing The Rise Fund. 

Impact funds are collective investment schemes in the form of alternative investment funds which always look for social impact of any planned investment in addition to financial returns. 

The current franchise agreement between Apollo and STS is going to expire in June this year. 

The acquisition will be completed within the first half of 2020, said a press release of the Texas Pacific Group on Monday.  

Credible sources told The Business Standard that the acquirer may end up having around 60 percent shares of STS Holdings if the deal is executed according to plan. 

"As we seek to improve health outcomes for patients, Evercare and CDC are the right partners to help expand our work in Bangladesh," said Bob Kundanmal, chairman of STS Holdings. 

"They will provide the expertise and resources required to strengthen our model and drive enhanced specialist services and quality health outcomes in the underserved market in Bangladesh," he added.  

Professor AHM Enayet Hussain, additional director general of the Directorate General of Health Services, told The Business Standard that this is the biggest foreign acquisition deal signed so far in the country's healthcare sector.     

He expects the acquirer to bring modern technology and expertise in the field of healthcare.

"I hope they will keep healthcare affordable for the common people," added Enayet.  

Andrew Currie, chief operating officer of the Evercare Group, said his company is always ready to improve the condition of patients by increasing the quality of healthcare and reducing costs.      

The Business Standard reported in September last year that the US investment giant Texas Pacific Group was in talks with STS Holdings for buying a controlling stake in the latter. 

STS had once planned to offer shares in the stock market. But it reversed the decision last year because of market adversity and because some of its entrepreneurs had since been looking to transfer a portion of their stake to a good investor.  

STS began operations in 2005. It is operating as Apollo Hospitals Dhaka under a franchise agreement with India's Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. 

Apollo Hospitals Dhaka is a 425-bed multi-disciplinary super-specialty  hospital. Since its inception to date, approximately 6,60,116 patients have registered and over 25,14,152 patients have availed out-patient consultation across over 29 disciplines.  

As part of the Evercare platform, STS will continue to strengthen Bangladesh's healthcare infrastructure by providing premium care via its expertise and state-of-the-art facilities. 

By being able to tap into the cross-regional Evercare platform and capabilities, STS will seek to streamline procurement, enhance clinical capabilities and optimise its operations, ultimately strengthening its quality of care. 

In addition to its existing hospital in Dhaka, STS's new Chattogram facility will further expand its reach. The 400-bed facility is almost ready to open soon. 

The Dhaka facility of STS was the first hospital in Bangladesh to receive the Joint Commission International (JCI) Accreditation in 2008. To date, it remains the only JCI-Accredited hospital in the country. 

JCI Accreditation is an international stamp for excellence in clinical practices in patient care and safety. 

[Maisson]

A nascent market in healthcare sector

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT
FAISAL MAHMUD, Dhaka
Bangladesh has a medical equipment market worth of $163 million, similar in size to the market in Latvia or Serbia. But market size is where the similarity ends, as Bangladesh’s per capita health expenditure stands at only $27, whereas in Latvia or Serbia, it is $860 and $810 respectively.

This low per capital health expenditure has proven to be a major barrier in creating a medical equipment industry in the country, making the sector almost exclusively import-oriented, say experts.

According to a recent report of the Espicom Business Intelligence, an UK-based pharmaceutical and medical equipment research firm, the Bangladeshi medical equipment market is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.4 per cent, which will advance it to a total value of $243.6 million by 2018.

The Espiocom report also said that Bangladeshi medical device imports have shown wild fluctuations in recent years, with growth in US dollar terms ranging from a high of 79.5 per cent in 2005 to a low of -10.6 per cent in 2007.

In 2013, imports increased by 25.4 per cent to reach $156 million. The recent annual import total reached a record high of $176.9 million in the 12 months to December 2014, representing a year-over-year increase of 14.4 per cent, said the Espiocom report.

In the absence of any significant medical equipment industry, export totals tend to be very small. In 2013, exports were valued at $3.7 million. Consequently, Bangladesh runs a negative balance of trade in medical devices—in excess of $150 million in 2013.

According to the data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the recent annual export total amounted to $ 5.6mn in the 12 months to December 2014, representing year-on-year growth of 51.6 per cent.

Very little domestic manufacturing takes place in Bangladesh and what does almost entirely comprises basic medical supplies. The Espiocom report said that a total of 104 people were employed in eight establishments involved in the manufacture of medical and dental instruments and supplies in Bangladesh in 2012. Gross output by the eight establishments totalled $2.6 million.

“The situation is changing slowly. We have been able to expand the domestic manufacturing market in the last few years,” said Sayed Rezaul Karim, managing director of National Electrocare Ltd, one of the few pioneers medical equipment manufacturers in the country.

Karim, an electrical engineer who founded the company in 2005, said he now had patents for eleven products including three types of Electro Ultrasound Therapy machines, Digital Muscle Stimulator machine, three types of Electro Surgical Units, two types of Waxbath machines, Photo Electric Colorimeter and Digital Lab Rotator.

“I was involved in the maintenance of large medical equipment for some of the renowned hospitals. I learned the details of some of the small and medium-size machines out of my own interest. Then I thought of manufacturing them myself,” said Engr Karim.

Karim says now he supplies his company’s machines to Popular, Labaid, Ibn Sina, Islami Bank Hospital and several other clients. He has also started exporting some of the machines to India.

“For producing large medical equipment like Electrocardiographs, Magnetic Resonance Imaging devices, Scintigraphic devices, Ultrasonic Scanners, X-ray machine and others, there is still no option but to go for imports as producing them involves large facilities with hi-tech knowledge”.

He says it is hard to establish in Bangladesh with a per capita health expenditure of $27 dollar. “But we can focus on manufacturing small and medium medical equipment,” said Karim.

Md Shah Alam, owner of BD-Ortho Care, another pioneer that manufacturers all sorts of Orthopedic Implants and Instruments, told The Independent that there was a huge potential of manufacturing small medical equipment in Bangladesh.

“After being involved in importing medical equipment for over 17 years, I started this manufacturing company only three years ago. I am now exporting products worth around $0.6 million,” said Alam.

Alam said that his company was producing 60 orthopedic products including bone-hook, drill machine, spine retractor, jime and many more. “The price of those products ranges from Tk 300–Tk 30,000. I am supplying these products to Apollo Hospital, Trauma Centre, National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedic Surgery. I am also exporting these products to Pakistan and Thailand.”

Alam said the small and medium-size medical equipment market has been flooded with a large number of substandard medical instruments imported mainly from India, Pakistan and China, as the traders are capitalising on the absence of a market monitoring system.

“The products that we produce are a way better than the products that are being imported from those countries. But a syndicate of some traders hinder the growth of the domestic market,” said Alam.

Mahbubul Haque, managing director of Panacea Biomedical Services, said instead of importing substandard products from abroad, Bangladesh could easily go for manufacturing, especially the surgical equipment and small products for diagnostic centres.

Haque’s company, which imports products like test tubes, butterfly needles and injections from China said that they planned to manufacture these products in the near future. “This market is growing day by day. The country has the potential to meet the increasing demand through manufacturing. Otherwise, it will remain import-oriented,” said MD of Panacea.

Prof Mohammaed Kamal, chairman of the department of pathology at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), said the per capita healthcare expenditure was increasing in Bangladesh.

“Just a few years ago, it was below $10, now it is $27. The market is growing and we have the scope to increase our local products. The products that are manufactured here are of good quality; so we can also grab the export market,” said Prof Kamal.

Amid rising global trade tensions and sluggish global economic outlook for 2020, the global healthcare market is expected to cross the $2 trillion mark in 2020, according to ‘Global Healthcare Market Outlook, 2020’ report.

The new vision for healthcare for 2020 and beyond will not just focus on access, quality, and affordability but also on predictive, preventive, and outcome-based care models promoting social and financial inclusion. Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) will emerge has a big theme across progressive health systems to proactively engage the right patients and improve health outcomes to help healthcare organisations meet quality standards, it said.

In 2020, consumer-driven models of healthcare will gain more market traction, as they stand to better bridge the gap of what consumers want and what healthcare can deliver, the report added.

[Darth Nihilus]

On 2/1/2020 at 8:26 PM, Syed Amar Khan said:

A nascent market in healthcare sector

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT
FAISAL MAHMUD, Dhaka
Bangladesh has a medical equipment market worth of $163 million, similar in size to the market in Latvia or Serbia. But market size is where the similarity ends, as Bangladesh’s per capita health expenditure stands at only $27, whereas in Latvia or Serbia, it is $860 and $810 respectively.

This low per capital health expenditure has proven to be a major barrier in creating a medical equipment industry in the country, making the sector almost exclusively import-oriented, say experts.

According to a recent report of the Espicom Business Intelligence, an UK-based pharmaceutical and medical equipment research firm, the Bangladeshi medical equipment market is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.4 per cent, which will advance it to a total value of $243.6 million by 2018.

The Espiocom report also said that Bangladeshi medical device imports have shown wild fluctuations in recent years, with growth in US dollar terms ranging from a high of 79.5 per cent in 2005 to a low of -10.6 per cent in 2007.

In 2013, imports increased by 25.4 per cent to reach $156 million. The recent annual import total reached a record high of $176.9 million in the 12 months to December 2014, representing a year-over-year increase of 14.4 per cent, said the Espiocom report.

In the absence of any significant medical equipment industry, export totals tend to be very small. In 2013, exports were valued at $3.7 million. Consequently, Bangladesh runs a negative balance of trade in medical devices—in excess of $150 million in 2013.

According to the data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the recent annual export total amounted to $ 5.6mn in the 12 months to December 2014, representing year-on-year growth of 51.6 per cent.

Very little domestic manufacturing takes place in Bangladesh and what does almost entirely comprises basic medical supplies. The Espiocom report said that a total of 104 people were employed in eight establishments involved in the manufacture of medical and dental instruments and supplies in Bangladesh in 2012. Gross output by the eight establishments totalled $2.6 million.

“The situation is changing slowly. We have been able to expand the domestic manufacturing market in the last few years,” said Sayed Rezaul Karim, managing director of National Electrocare Ltd, one of the few pioneers medical equipment manufacturers in the country.

Karim, an electrical engineer who founded the company in 2005, said he now had patents for eleven products including three types of Electro Ultrasound Therapy machines, Digital Muscle Stimulator machine, three types of Electro Surgical Units, two types of Waxbath machines, Photo Electric Colorimeter and Digital Lab Rotator.

“I was involved in the maintenance of large medical equipment for some of the renowned hospitals. I learned the details of some of the small and medium-size machines out of my own interest. Then I thought of manufacturing them myself,” said Engr Karim.

Karim says now he supplies his company’s machines to Popular, Labaid, Ibn Sina, Islami Bank Hospital and several other clients. He has also started exporting some of the machines to India.

“For producing large medical equipment like Electrocardiographs, Magnetic Resonance Imaging devices, Scintigraphic devices, Ultrasonic Scanners, X-ray machine and others, there is still no option but to go for imports as producing them involves large facilities with hi-tech knowledge”.

He says it is hard to establish in Bangladesh with a per capita health expenditure of $27 dollar. “But we can focus on manufacturing small and medium medical equipment,” said Karim.

Md Shah Alam, owner of BD-Ortho Care, another pioneer that manufacturers all sorts of Orthopedic Implants and Instruments, told The Independent that there was a huge potential of manufacturing small medical equipment in Bangladesh.

“After being involved in importing medical equipment for over 17 years, I started this manufacturing company only three years ago. I am now exporting products worth around $0.6 million,” said Alam.

Alam said that his company was producing 60 orthopedic products including bone-hook, drill machine, spine retractor, jime and many more. “The price of those products ranges from Tk 300–Tk 30,000. I am supplying these products to Apollo Hospital, Trauma Centre, National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedic Surgery. I am also exporting these products to Pakistan and Thailand.”

Alam said the small and medium-size medical equipment market has been flooded with a large number of substandard medical instruments imported mainly from India, Pakistan and China, as the traders are capitalising on the absence of a market monitoring system.

“The products that we produce are a way better than the products that are being imported from those countries. But a syndicate of some traders hinder the growth of the domestic market,” said Alam.

Mahbubul Haque, managing director of Panacea Biomedical Services, said instead of importing substandard products from abroad, Bangladesh could easily go for manufacturing, especially the surgical equipment and small products for diagnostic centres.

Haque’s company, which imports products like test tubes, butterfly needles and injections from China said that they planned to manufacture these products in the near future. “This market is growing day by day. The country has the potential to meet the increasing demand through manufacturing. Otherwise, it will remain import-oriented,” said MD of Panacea.

Prof Mohammaed Kamal, chairman of the department of pathology at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), said the per capita healthcare expenditure was increasing in Bangladesh.

“Just a few years ago, it was below $10, now it is $27. The market is growing and we have the scope to increase our local products. The products that are manufactured here are of good quality; so we can also grab the export market,” said Prof Kamal.

Amid rising global trade tensions and sluggish global economic outlook for 2020, the global healthcare market is expected to cross the $2 trillion mark in 2020, according to ‘Global Healthcare Market Outlook, 2020’ report.

The new vision for healthcare for 2020 and beyond will not just focus on access, quality, and affordability but also on predictive, preventive, and outcome-based care models promoting social and financial inclusion. Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) will emerge has a big theme across progressive health systems to proactively engage the right patients and improve health outcomes to help healthcare organisations meet quality standards, it said.

In 2020, consumer-driven models of healthcare will gain more market traction, as they stand to better bridge the gap of what consumers want and what healthcare can deliver, the report added.

How would you expect a growth in this market? Bangladeshis flock to India or Singapore whenever they come across anything that they think won't be solved in Bangladesh. The state of the public hospitals are horrendous, while private hospitals charge exorbitant rates. This industry should be looked into more as we have a growing middleclass and they are the ones availing the services of the private hospitals.

[Salted Cola]

22 minutes ago, Darth Nihilus said:

How would you expect a growth in this market? Bangladeshis flock to India or Singapore whenever they come across anything that they think won't be solved in Bangladesh. The state of the public hospitals are horrendous, while private hospitals charge exorbitant rates. This industry should be looked into more as we have a growing middleclass and they are the ones availing the services of the private hospitals.

First our leaders must set an example, instead of running off to Singapore every time they catch a cold.

[Dark Carnage]

10 hours ago, Darth Nihilus said:

private hospitals charge exorbitant rates

The hospitals in India or Singapore do not charge any less. But the main problem is the quality of service people get in this country and the mindset of the people. Some people would accept the same treatment in Chennai or Singapore than in Bangladesh.

[Rezwan12]

12:00 AM, August 12, 2020 / LAST MODIFIED: 02:03 AM, August 12, 2020

Chinese firm to invest $300m to set up plasma fractionation plant

Star Business Report

The good news on the economic front has started to roll in once again, with the latest being China-based Oryx Biotech's announcement to invest $300 million to set up a plasma fractionation plant in Bangladesh.

The company yesterday inked the tripartite agreement with Summit Technopolis, a company of Summit Group, and the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA) for the country's first biotech investment at a programme at the ICT Division in Dhaka.

Oryx will set up the plasma fractionation plant on 25 acres of land and building provided by Summit Technopolis to produce plasma derivatives, also known as life-saving therapeutics and other related products.

With a need for plasma in the potential treatment of the COVID-19, this is a timely investment for Bangladesh's healthcare research and service sectors, Summit Group said in a press release.   

It is expected that about 2,000 high-valued science graduates will be employed to produce therapeutics such as albumin, immunoglobulin and coagulation factor VIII.

The plasma fractionation project will open a new horizon in Bangladesh's development, said Muhammed Aziz Khan, founder chairman of Summit Group.

Oryx will now invest $10 million, said Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for ICT, in a press release.

The plant would have a capacity to process 1,200 tonnes of plasma annually and will be connected with 20 plasma collection centres.

Patients from all over the world rely on plasma protein therapies to treat rare, chronic diseases, said Oryx Biotech on its website.

Plasma often is referred to as the gift of life because it is the essential starting material needed to manufacture therapies that help thousands of people worldwide with rare, chronic diseases to live healthier, productive and fulfilling lives.

Summit Technopolis is the concessionaire for developing infrastructure for a hi-tech industry comprising of information technology, IT-enabled services, bio-tech, non-polluting manufacturing assembly lines and precision engineering companies on 91 acres area in the Bangabandhu Hi-Tech City in Kaliakoir.

Spanning more than 355 acres, the Bangabandhu Hi-Tech City is the first and largest high-tech park in Bangladesh. So far, 37 companies have been allocated land and five companies have already started production.

Nasrul Hamid, state minister for power and energy; NM Zeaul Alam, senior secretary of the ICT Division; Hosne Ara Begum, managing director of BHTPA; and Kazi Shakil, chairman of Oryx Biotech, were present. 

The ceremony was virtually attended by Khan; Summit Group Vice-chairmen Jafer Ummeed Khan, Latif Khan and Farid Khan; and directors Ayesha Aziz Khan, Azeeza Aziz Khan, Fadiah Khan and Salman Khan.

 

https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/chinese-firm-invest-300m-set-plasma-fractionation-plant-1943661

[Patriot_68]

This is a very good news for our country. We should gradually move to hi tech industries. 

[Rezwan12]

12:00 AM, November 01, 2020 / LAST MODIFIED: 02:15 AM, November 01, 2020

Joint venture to build Tk 2,000cr cancer hospital

The 1,000-bed hospital by Japan’s Ship Healthcare and Bangladesh’s Aichi Medical may go into operation in 2024

Jagaran Chakma

Japanese firm Ship Healthcare Holdings in partnership with Bangladesh's Aichi Medical Group will set up a 1,000-bed dedicated cancer hospital and research centre in Dhaka at a cost of Tk 2,000 crore.

Aichi will provide six bighas of land worth Tk 200 crore in the city's Purbachal area while the rest of the investment will come from the Osaka-based Ship Healthcare.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) is also a part of the project and will provide technical support to ensure world-class treatment at the hospital named the Japan Cancer Hospital and Research Institute.

"We have already got the design approval from the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha for construction of the physical infrastructure," said Prof Md Moazzem Hossain, chairman of Aichi Medical Group.

This would be the second hospital of the joint venture in Bangladesh.

Ship Healthcare Holdings and Aichi Medical Group earlier set up Japan East West Medical College Hospital in Ashulia for Tk 560 crore under another joint venture supported by Jica.

This was Ship Healthcare's first hospital venture outside Japan. The inauguration of the 600-bed multi-speciality hospital has been pushed back by the coronavirus pandemic and it may begin full-fledged operations in January next year.

In June, the hospital opened a coronavirus unit consisting of 200 beds.

The deals for the joint venture were signed in 2016.

"We could have started the construction work of the new hospital in July this year, but it got delayed as Japanese experts went back to their country after the Covid-19 outbreak," Hossain said.

They have started to come back to Bangladesh as the situation is returning to normalcy, he said.

"We now hope to start the construction work in January and complete the physical construction, including setting up of a lab, the effluent treatment plant for medical waste and the intensive care unit in the next 36 months. We believe we can go into operation in early 2024."

Under the joint venture, Ship Aichi Medical Services, a 30-storey hospital will be built although they have got permission for 40 floors, according to Hossain.

The hospital will create at least 2,500 jobs and will employ 200 Japanese specialised medical professionals, including oncologists and nurses.

"Ten per cent of the beds will be dedicated to the poor who will receive treatment free of cost."

The joint venture has requested the government to ease work permit for Japanese specialised doctors and nurses.

Technologies run by artificial intelligence will be introduced in the hospital for diagnostic purposes. It will put in place proton therapy for the patients, which is very sophisticated and costly.

"The therapy, which can weed out cancer cell completely, has never been used in the South Asia region," Hossain said.

The hospital will ease the hassles for around 4-5 lakh patients, who go aboard every year for cancer treatment, he said.

"We want to provide cancer treatment facilities of Japanese standards in Bangladesh."

Aichi Medical Group started its journey in 1995 and is now involved in medical, dental and nursing education along with research and development in the field.

Ship Healthcare has 300 hospitals in Japan and the group has good connections with globally renowned hospitals.

Ship Aichi Medical has signed agreements with international organisations such as Mahidol University in Thailand, Nagoya University in Japan, Osaka International Hospital for Cancer and Heart Disease Japan, and Bangpakok Medical Group Bangkok to upgrade services and carry out exchange programmes.

"Japanese companies came to provide quality treatment, not for doing business, as the cancer patients in Bangladesh do not get quality treatment due to a lack of dedicated necessary cancer hospitals," said Hossain.

Every year, around 1.5 lakh people develop cancer in Bangladesh, according to World Health Organisation.

Prof Hossain said the number of cancer patients was increasing day by day in the country.

There are 15 state-run hospitals and units that treat cancer patients in Bangladesh alongside 22 private hospitals, according to the Cancer Awareness Foundation Bangladesh, a non-governmental organisation. 

 

https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/joint-venture-build-tk-2000cr-cancer-hospital-1987401