- Domestic manufacturers bemoan risks to sustainability
The newly-gazetted medicine pricing formula is based on import price controls through the imposed Maximum Ceiling Price (MCP) and Maximum Retail Price (MRP) and does not pose a threat to local medicine manufacturers, the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) claimed yesterday (4).
This statement was made by the NMRA in response to a letter by National Chamber of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers of Sri Lanka (NCPMSL) President Dr. Lohitha Samarawickrema, which noted that the application of the new pricing mechanism, although acceptable for imported pharmaceuticals, could severely impact domestic manufacturers and jeopardise medicine security by driving local manufacturers out of business, among other concerns.
When contacted by The Sunday Morning, NMRA Chairman Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama stated that the concerns raised stemmed from a misinterpretation of the new gazette, assuring that the mechanism was meant for imported pharmaceuticals.
“If we take, for example, a medication like metformin, which is commonly used for diabetes, we will be setting the MCP after considering the market prices available in Sri Lanka, both locally manufactured and imported. Therefore, only if a local producer is selling medicines for very high prices will they be affected by this mechanism,” he explained.
As detailed in the gazette, the MRP of a dosage form and strength of a particular medicine shall be determined by identifying the market share by value of different brands or generic names of medicine formulations and by verifying retail prices of the relevant dosage form and strength from retail pharmacies of different parts of the island through information provided by the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC).
Dr. Wijewickrama stated that the new pricing mechanism had been implemented thus far with the re-registration of medicines, with around 300-400 items having been priced within the past two to three months.
Issued on Wednesday (1), the letter from the NCPMSL details the acknowledgement of the unsuitable nature of the mechanism at the Pricing Committee meeting on 6 August, as well as how it would negatively impact local manufacturing under buy-back agreements.
Dr. Samarawickrema has further outlined peer nations that followed different pricing mechanisms and policies that were more ‘successful,’ stating: “Sri Lanka must not isolate itself by adopting a rigid, one-size-fits-all model that dismantles its own strategic industry at the very moment it is beginning to take root.”
The letter urges the Ministry of Health and Mass Media and the NMRA to suspend the gazetted formula and adopt a differentiated pricing framework, as well as institutionalise a national policy that ensures pharmaceutical self-sufficiency and protects investments made by domestic manufacturers.
Attempts to contact NCPMSL President Dr. Samarawickrema with regard to the matter proved futile.