- India to keep monopoly
- G2G medicine plan faces industry pushback
- Low-volume imports from Pakistan, China, others limited
- Fatal incidents spark quality concerns over Indian meds
The Government’s well-publicised plan to diversify Sri Lanka’s medicine imports appears to be in limbo, as months after receiving Cabinet approval, the proposal to source medicines from countries such as Pakistan, China, Indonesia, Turkey, and Bangladesh has yet to move beyond discussion, The Sunday Morning learns.
While the Health Ministry insists the initiative is aimed at securing life-saving medicines amid chronic shortages, insiders reveal that India will continue to enjoy a virtual monopoly, commanding nearly 80% of Sri Lanka’s pharmaceutical imports.
A special committee was recently appointed to facilitate direct Government-to-Government (G2G) medicine procurement. The move, however, has triggered strong opposition from pharmaceutical industry stakeholders, who accuse the Government of bypassing established procurement mechanisms in favour of opaque deals.
Despite the Cabinet’s greenlight, the Health Ministry is still waiting on the National Procurement Commission’s blessing before presenting a final plan.
In the meantime, it is also learnt that diplomatic letters have been dispatched to several regional governments, accompanied by a list of around 100 urgently required medicines.
Yet, officials quietly admit that imports from these countries will be limited to medicines with no registered suppliers in Sri Lanka — mostly low-volume medicines with minimal commercial interest.
In 2023, Sri Lanka faced growing concerns over the quality of Indian-imported medicines after a series of alarming health incidents. Several patients died following the alleged use of the Indian-made anaesthetic bupivacaine, which had been brought into the country under emergency import provisions without full regulatory approval.
Around the same time, a batch of Indian-manufactured prednisolone eye drops was allegedly linked to bacterial contamination that left cataract patients with serious vision impairment.
In response, the Health Ministry and the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) withdrew the medicines and began investigations, while a special Government committee was appointed to review the cases and consider compensation for affected individuals.
These incidents also triggered legal challenges against the waivers that allowed unregistered medicines to enter Sri Lanka under India’s credit line.
“For the last two to three years, deliveries have been pending due to various issues,” NMRA Chairman Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama told The Sunday Morning. “Every week we meet with the Deputy Minister of Health, Medical Supplies Division (MSD), and State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) to review delays in registration. The process is now fairly formalised and we expect progress within the next two to three months.”
He added that around 80% of Sri Lanka’s medicine supplies still came from India, which had long been the primary source.
“We also import from Pakistan and Bangladesh, but for certain medicines, no registered suppliers exist in Sri Lanka. In such cases, we have waived registration fees, but since the required quantities are small, most suppliers are reluctant to apply.”
According to Dr. Wijewickrama, these are usually essential medicines imported in limited quantities. “Because volumes are low, suppliers show little interest, but we still encourage registration. We have now begun implementing a new pricing mechanism and issuing approvals accordingly,” he said.