Lab to test medicinal drugs to be set up: PM

• Lab to test medicinal drugs to be set up: PM

The government is making arrangements to set up a laboratory to test the quality of medicinal drugs, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said.    

At an event held at Temple Trees on Thursday to handover appointment letters to recruits to the Health Ministry, Mr. Rajapaksa said there have been numerous allegations regarding the drugs imported in the recent past. 

 
“There have also been allegations of bringing in medicinal drugs for prices three to four times higher the usual price. Therefore, it is vital to check the quality of the drugs. We believe a pharmaceutical quality monitoring laboratory should be established for this purpose and a programme is already underway in this regard,” he said adding that health officials have a responsibility to pay attention to these issues and provide a better service.   

The PM thanked the Health officials for taking measures to prevent the coronavirus infection from spreading in Sri Lanka and to ensure that the Chinese woman who was infected with the virus recovered properly.   

Nearly 1,360 appointment letters were handed over to officials across several fields in the health sector.   

Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, State Minister of Indigenous Medicine Priyankara Jayaratne, Health Services Director General Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Health Ministry Secretary Bhadrani Jayawardena and several other were present at this occasion.