Bengal Needs Visionaries like Sir Prafulla Chandra Ray, founder of Bengal Chemical Works
Neucrad Health India April, 15, 2020
Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) based in Kolkata. Renowned Chemist and visionary of Bengal, Sir Prafulla Chandra Ray established this company at 6, Ganesh Chandra Avenue, Kolkata on 12 April 1901. The company has already rendered its service to the community for more than a century. Sir Prafulla Chandra Ray founded a chemical factory named Bengal Chemical Works at 91, Upper Circular Road, Kolkata in 1892 with an initial capital of ₹700 (US$9.80). He is also known as the father of Chemical Science in India, and the founder authored a book- “A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of Sixteenth Century” in 1902. Throughout his life, he did not take a single rupee salary from the revenue generated by the Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Transformation of Bengal Chemical Works into a Public Limited Company
On 12 April 1901, the management of the factory decided to convert Pharmaceutical Enterprize to a Limited Company and renamed it as Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceutical Works Ltd. (BCPW). During this time, the founder added an additional fund of ₹2 lakh (US$2,800) for the quick development of the company. After that, they also started production in three more factories in addition to the Kolkata unit.
The Panihati unit came up in 1920, Mumbai facility in 1938, and the Kanpur unit in 1949. These additional manufacturing facilities helped in scaling up the production manifold. Ciproben, Nimucet, Raymox, Bengesic, Quinine Sulphate 300 mg, Chloroquine Phos. 250 mg and Benzithro are some popular drugs manufactured at Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Besides, they also produce household disinfectants like bleaching powder, Pheneol (BCPL’s Brand Name for Phenyl), Klin Toilet (toilet cleaner), hair oil, and naphthalene balls. After the death of Sir Prafulla Chandra Ray, the company suffered a setback in the leadership and revenue system. However, in the fiscal year 2016-17, the company generated a profit of ₹4 crore (US$560,000).
Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals– the PSU Pharmaceuticals Company of West Bengal, has received a licence from the Drugs Controller General of India to resume production of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). It is a potent antimalarial drug, which is currently in the news for relieving the symptoms of COVID-19. The use of this medicine can significantly reduce the recovery time of patients, and minimise their chances of being admitted to the ICU.
P.M. Chandraiah, Managing Director of Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, has recently expressed that their factory has the infrastructure of manufacturing 10,00,000-15,00,000 units per day of 200 and 400-milligram doses. Currently, the pharmaceutical company produces ‘chloroquine phosphate’– an antimalarial drug. Previously, they used to manufacture hydroxychloroquine but stopped it decades ago, so they required a fresh licence to resume production.
What is Hydroxychloroquine?
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is a popular medication used for the treatment of malaria, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and porphyria cutanea tarda. In 2019-20 it became a drug of choice for many physicians as it can successfully reduce the symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The medicine is available under the brand name Plaquenil; however, you also get many generic forms of this drug at an economical price range. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the use of hydroxychloroquine sulphate in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. However, since it is a prescription drug, patients should not intake this medicine without the advice of a registered practitioner. There are reports of side effects, including, vomiting, headache, muscle weakness, diarrhoea, permanent damage in eyes, worsening of skin conditions like psoriasis or porphyria, and heart ailments.
Today, you will find so many pharmaceuticals companies in India. Bengal needs more!! so, Bengal needs more visionary scientists and entrepreneurs to lead India again. The path is very hard to achieve again. But state govt. can take fruitful initiatives and develop a bio-tech cum pharmaceutical hub to enriching biomedical research and development.
References:
1. Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
3. How India’s oldest pharma company smelt success after 6 decades
