A group of Bangladeshi public officials, including the head of the country’s Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA), look around medical devices at the Medical Device Development Center at the Osong Medical Innovation Foundation on Aug. 31. These officials are participants in a biopharmaceutical cooperative program organized by Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
Korea and Bangladesh continue to collaborate on biopharmaceuticals and related institutional networks.
A delegation of Bangladeshi government officials in charge of pharmaceuticals visited Korea and shared Korea’s safety and regulatory management systems concerning biopharmaceuticals.
From Aug. 29 to Sept. 6, 15 Bangladeshi officials, including the head of the nation’s Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA), participated in a cooperative program that covers safety and regulatory management of biopharmaceuticals, organized by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
During the nine-day program, participants took classes covering policies, clinical test approval and permission systems, quality management systems and lab management of biopharmaceuticals. On-site visits to a biopharmaceutical factory and to clinical test centers were also included in the program, where the participants were able to observe first-hand actual clinical test and see how manufacturing and quality-management of biopharmaceuticals is done in Korea.
After the lectures and visits, program participants discussed how to establish appropriate action plans covering policies and organizations concerning biopharmaceuticals back home in Bangladesh.
A Bangladeshi delegation visits the New Drug Development Center at the Osong Medical Innovation Foundation (top) and a Medytox biopharmaceutical factory.
In its second year this year, the program was organized by the ministry and the Korea International Cooperative Agency in response to requests from Bangladesh’s DGDA. The Bangladeshi administration has been facing challenges due to a lack of expertise in inspections and approvals of biopharmaceuticals, as well as quality management.
The organizing ministry said that it would collaborate on building expertise in terms of regulatory management of biopharmaceuticals in Bangladesh, while on the other side seek opportunities to promote Korea’s biopharmaceuticals overseas. The ministry has been organizing such training programs for government officials from many countries since 2012.
By Chang Iou-chung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Ministry of Food and Drug Safety
icchang@korea.kr
