Globe Biotech Limited, a subsidiary of Globe Pharma Group of Companies, has obtained a United States patent for its homegrown Covid vaccine Bangavax.
The company made the announcement at a press conference in Dhaka on Sunday. It claimed that this was the first time since the country鈥檚 independence a Bangladeshi pharmaceutical industry had secured a US patent.
Speakers at the press conference said that, with the recognition, Bangladesh could now position itself among intellectual property exporters, moving beyond its traditional role as an IP importer.
Globe Biotech鈥檚 chief executive officer Kakon Nug said that the patent covered both the vaccine and its underlying technology.
He added that the company had also secured a priority claim from the US patent office under the Paris Convention (1883), which ensured legal certainty in case of disputes.
Globe Biotech filed an application for the patent on September 14, 2021, and it was granted on August 26, 2025.
Founded in 2015, the company established an advanced laboratory to produce biologics, novel drugs, and biosimilars for complex diseases, including cancer, arthritis, anemia, hypertension, and autoimmune disorders. During the global Covid pandemic, scientists Kakon Nug and Nazneen Sultana initiated research to develop detection kits, vaccines, and medicines, leading to the development of Bangavax, an mRNA-based vaccine.
In July 2020, Globe Biotech announced the vaccine candidate, the only Covid vaccine developed by a Bangladeshi company. The Bangladesh Medical Research Council and the Directorate General of Drug Administration later approved its clinical trial.
The vaccine鈥檚 full coding sequence was first published in the US National Center for Biotechnology Information database in 2020. Research findings on the single-dose mRNA vaccine were later published in the US medical journal Vaccine (Elsevier) and in Scientific Reports, a journal of the UK-based Nature.
The World Health Organization also listed Bangavax in its Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker and Landscape in 2020.
Monkey trials demonstrated that the vaccine was safe and effective, the first such trial ever conducted in Bangladesh.
According to the company, the patent covered a novel, self-developed mRNA vaccine technology that used nanotechnology. Bangavax was described as the world鈥檚 only single-dose Covid vaccine effective against multiple variants.
Kakon Nug said that the patented technology could also be applied in the development of DNA, subunit/protein, inactivated virus, and recombinant virus vaccines, as well as treatments for cancer, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and blood diseases.
Dhaka University鈥檚 pharmacy professor Sitesh Chandra Bachar said that the single-dose vaccine had generated sufficient antibodies during trials on monkeys.
Globe Biotech officials, however, alleged that the then government had failed to provide the necessary support for their innovation.
They said that, after the first phase of trials, approval for the next phase from the BMRC took six months, while permission for human trials took over a year.
Globe Biotech chairman Dr Harunur Rashid said that the process should have taken only a month.
鈥楤y the time, the authorities granted permission for human trials, Covid-19 had already peaked, so the trial could not proceed,鈥� said Kakon Nug.
Frustrated by the delays, the company decided to continue its work independently and ultimately achieved international recognition.
He said that due to weak patent laws in Bangladesh, Globe Biotech had applied for a US patent to secure stronger intellectual property protection.
Dr Rashid said that ambassadors from 23 countries, including 11 ASEAN nations, had shown interest in Bangavax. However, he claimed, opportunities were lost due to a lack of government cooperation. He added that Globe Biotech could have secured orders worth $5 billion during the pandemic if the authorities had been supportive.
