Attorneys representing George Steuart Health, a subsidiary of George Steuart & Company Limited have sent a Rs. 10 billion Letter of Demand to a weekly English newspaper published by Wijeya Newspapers over what it terms as baseless and malicious allegations which were published on the front page of the respective newspaper today (16), over the import of a drug to treat Cancer, The Morning learns. “We are instructed that you have made and published or caused to be published the aforesaid article containing false statements and allegations with reference to our client as reproduced below, which are per se and by innuendo defamatory of our client. The Health Ministry has given permission to a private company to import without registration a drug required for cancer on the grounds that no supplier had come forward to import it” Accordingly, a “Waiver of Registration” has been granted by the National Medicines Regulatory Authority to George Steuart Health (Pvt) Ltd for the import of the drug known as Trastuzumab from South Korea. NMRA Chairman Dr. Rasitha Wijewantha told the Sunday Times that since the Health Ministry had given the approval the waiver had been granted,” the Letter of Demand notes. Further, it mentions that George Steuart Health applied for the registration of the drug “Trastuzumab” by submitting its application along with the dossier on 21 September 2020 and duly obtained the Certificate of Registration for the drug with effect from 15 November 2021 from the NMRA, and therefore the aforesaid statements, allegations and insinuations which have been published are false and are not justifiable on any basis whatsoever. “You have published or caused to have published the same with clear malice and animus injuriandi against our client and their reputation. The defamatory allegations against our client are false and have brought our client into ridicule, contempt and disrepute among the public. You have published such false and defamatory allegations against our clients without any inquiry being made from our client for verification and / or affording them any opportunity to answer such allegations. The said news item has been available on the printed and online version to the readers, and has caused our client serious, unfair and substantial damage and harm. We are instructed to state that by reason of your publication of the article our client has been defamed and injured in its business,” the Letter states. Given such circumstances, the publication was informed that they are demanded to pay Rupees Ten Billion (LKR 10,000,000,000/-) to George Steuart Health within (14) days from receipt of the letter. “If you fail to do so, we have instructions from our client to institute legal action against you to recover the said sum of money along with the costs that our client will incur in doing so, without further notice,” the letter warns. The newspaper was also demanded to cease and desist from publishing any further false and defamatory statements against George Steuart Health and to remove the said false and defamatory article from their website and other online platforms immediately to prevent further and continuing damages to George Steuart Health. “Should you fail to comply with this demand and / or continue to publish the said false and defamatory statements or any other false and defamatory statements against our client, we have further instructions to institute legal proceedings against you without further notice to have you restricted from doing so by an order of court,” the letter notes.