A medicine routinely administered to Bangladeshi children suffering from diarrhoea has become an extraordinarily lucrative product for its importer—not because of its therapeutic novelty, but thanks to a regulatory sleight-of-hand that classifies it as a food supplement rather than a drug, according to a whistleblower with direct knowledge of the company’s operations.

The allegations, levelled by a former employee of Beximco Pharmaceuticals, cast a harsh light on a shadowy corner of the country’s healthcare market—one that has largely escaped public scrutiny, even as it caters to one of the most common and potentially dangerous illnesses afflicting young children.

At the heart of the matter lies Enterogermina Oral Suspension, an Italian-manufactured probiotic imported into Bangladesh by Synovia Pharma PLC, a company affiliated with the Beximco conglomerate. Rather than registering the product as a pharmaceutical drug—a designation that would trigger price controls and rigorous regulatory oversight—the company markets it as a food supplement, a category subject to far looser rules and minimal government intervention.

That classification, industry experts and the whistleblower contend, has allowed retail prices to spiral virtually unchecked.

A 600% Mark-Up

Import records reviewed by Bangla Outlook, corroborated by verifiable documentation supplied by the whistleblower, indicate that the declared import cost of Enterogermina is less than $1 per pack. Customs and banking paperwork place the value of a box containing 10 vials at roughly US $0.79—equivalent to approximately 97 taka per pack. Yet the same pack retails in Bangladesh for 700 taka, or 70 taka per vial.

The whistleblower, a former Beximco Pharma staffer, disclosed that the retail price surged from around 500 to 700 taka within just two years—an increase of 40%—with no public rationale or official notification offered to consumers or healthcare providers.

“Because the product is categorised as a food supplement and falls outside formal price-control mechanisms, the importer has been able to sustain margins exceeding 600%,” the whistleblower stated.

Enterogermina, which contains spores of the bacterium Bacillus clausii, is widely prescribed by physicians for gastrointestinal complaints and is particularly favoured for treating diarrhoea in paediatric patients. Its status as one of the few ready-to-use liquid probiotics for children in Bangladesh, critics argue, has rendered it uniquely profitable—and uniquely vulnerable to exploitation.

Questions Over Import Approvals

The allegations, however, extend well beyond pricing—calling into question the very legality of the import process itself.

Under Bangladesh’s Drugs and Cosmetics Act 2023, importers of food supplements are required to submit a comprehensive dossier, including free-sale certificates, certificates of analysis, manufacturing records, and stability data. The whistleblower alleges that for years, not all of this mandatory paperwork was furnished to regulators.

More troubling still, the source claims that Synovia continued importing the product based on an authorisation granted in 2022 that was valid for only one year. Industry insiders point out that no-objection certificates for pharmaceutical imports are typically issued for much shorter durations—often around six months—though terms can vary depending on the product and authority.

The whistleblower further noted that domestically produced probiotic alternatives to Enterogermina already exist in Bangladesh. Under prevailing policy, they argued, once local equivalents become available, imported finished products should face significantly tighter scrutiny—if not outright restriction.

Customs Suspicions and Alleged Under-Invoicing

Perhaps the most serious claim revolves around customs valuation. The whistleblower revealed that customs officials had questioned the declared invoice value of Enterogermina as far back as 2022—suggesting the importer may have engaged in under-invoicing. The price declared per pack, officials reportedly argued, was implausibly low, even by bulk-procurement standards.

According to the source, authorities raised the possibility that any discrepancy between the declared value and the actual cost of the goods could have been settled outside formal banking channels—a practice that, if substantiated, would raise grave questions about compliance with Bangladesh’s foreign exchange regulations and anti-money laundering frameworks.

Neither Beximco Pharmaceuticals, Synovia Pharma, nor the Directorate General of Drug Administration responded to repeated requests for comment at the time of publication.

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