Saturday Nov 22, 2025
Saturday Nov 22, 2025
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| Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa |
Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa announced that the Government is considering expanding pharmaceutical price controls to cover an additional 200 varieties of medicines.
Speaking at an event held at the Health Ministry to introduce a new batch of medicines to the local market, Dr. Jayatissa said the Ministry had already implemented significant price reductions for 350 essential medicines, marking what he described as a “major transformation” in the country’s pharmaceutical supply system.
Dr. Jayatissa noted that the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is empowered to regulate medicine prices under Act No. 5 of 2015. Price control mechanisms had been enforced since 2016, but were temporarily halted in December 2023 following an interim Court order secured by several pharmaceutical importers.
“During that period, private pharmacies and even private hospitals charged excessively, with no regulatory oversight,” he said.
A new gazette reintroducing the price control framework was recently passed in Parliament, enabling the Ministry to reinstate regulated prices for 350 medicines from this week.
Importers, manufacturers and suppliers have been officially informed of the revised pricing structure.
The controlled price list covers medicines used for a wide range of conditions, including paediatric illnesses, cancer, diabetes and hypertension.
The Minister highlighted examples of steep reductions: the cancer drug Paclitaxel (100mg/vial), previously sold at around Rs. 42,000 has been reduced to Rs. 26,332, whilst the price of Nimodipine IV Infusion (10mg/50ml), used for paralysis patients, will fall from Rs. 6,348 to Rs. 4,100.
Dr. Jayatissa stressed that rising drug prices had caused patients to purchase reduced or incomplete dosages. “These price controls will ensure that patients can obtain the proper dosages as prescribed by their doctors,” he said.
Meanwhile, the State Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing Corporation (SPMC) has introduced new locally manufactured medicines this year to supply high-quality, affordable drugs for domestic and international markets.
Two new original drug categories including; Celecoxib 200 mg priced at a minimum of Rs. 17.60 and Sitagliptin 100 mg, capped at Rs. 32 were presented to the Minister by SPMC Chairman Prof. Jayantha Wijayabandara.
It was noted that the SPMC continues to expand its manufacturing and research capacity, covering production, processing, storage, packaging, standardisation and industry expertise.
Deputy Health Minister Dr. Hansaka Wijemuni and SPMC General Manager A. Athuraliya also attended the event.
