Govt. allocates Rs. 45 b to import pharmaceutical drugs

Plans to manufacture 80% of local demand within Sri Lanka by mid-2018

Government has allocated Rs. 45 billion to import necessary pharmaceutical drugs for the next year, according to Health, Nutrition, and Indigenous Medicine Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne.

Last year the allocation for this purpose was Rs. 35 billion.

Minister Senaratne disclosed this at an event this week to introduce to the market five new domestically-produced medicines by the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) in Colombo. The medicines, which were produced at the SPC’s Ratmalana facility, included Paracetamol, antibiotics, and medicine for diabetes. At the occasion Chairman of SPC Dr. Sayuru Samrasundara said up to now, the SPC manufactures 54 medicines to provide them to the medical supply division of the Health Ministry. The five new drugs manufactured by the SPC will be issued to the market under the PMC brand, the official added.

The Minister revealed that the SPC plans to manufacture 80% of the drug requirement domestically by mid-2018 and the rest of the requirement will be manufactured in 2019. Over 20 local and foreign companies have signed agreements with the SPC for the manufacturing process.

Minister Senaratne said writing prescriptions for brand name drugs will be banned once the quality of the domestically manufactured drugs is guaranteed by a laboratory to be established in Sri Lanka by the Chinese government. The prescriptions should be written for the generic drugs, he added.

The government reduced the prices of 48 drugs in the first stage, and the prices of expensive drugs are expected to be reduced under the second stage. (ColomboPage)