Pharmaceutical industry withdraws 11 drugs from market

• Says importing them has become commercially unviable
• Notes with concern that biggest setback is for patients

 The Sri Lanka Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industry (SLCPI) in a statement yesterday said that despite persistent appeals, the Government has failed to address the issue of a fair and proper pricing mechanism for pharmaceutical products in light of the sharply depreciating Sri Lankan rupee against the US dollar. 

With over 85% of pharmaceutical products being imported, both the Ministry of Health and the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) continue to prevent the industry from adjusting the pricing of products as per the prevailing exchange rate, the SLCPI noted.

As such, the SLCPI said the pharmaceutical products listed in the table would no longer be available in the market as it was not commercially viable to import them.

Some of the drugs were withdrawn in 2016 due to the price ceiling and absence of a pricing formula. 

The SLCPI stated that the discontinuation of pharmaceuticals affects multiple parties such as the patients, manufacturing firms, providers, pharmacies and health authorities. The SLCPI stated with concern that the biggest setback would be for the patients who were adversely affected if the drug product that provided excellent therapeutic benefits and resulted in positive health outcomes was no longer available on the market.