2 April 2019 12:10 am
By Yoshitha Perera
A top pharmacist said yesterday that 80 percent of pharmaceuticals imported by Sri Lanka are not imported by any other country in the world.
Pharmacist of National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) Gopi Krishantha de Silva informed this to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) to probe allegations of large scale corruption between January 15, 2015 and December 31, 2018 yesterday.
Responding to him, Chairman of PCoI justice Upaly Abeyrathne directed the Commission to investigate it to identify the reason.
“A lot of expensive medicinal drugs are exported to Sri Lanka by various countries . Yet, they are of inferior quality ,” Chairman Abeyrathne remarked.
Witness had given the evidence regarding to the import of a new Russian oncology medicine named ‘Herticad’ to treat patients with breast cancer.
He informed the Commission that the drug has been issued from the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation; and not from the Russian Medicines Regulatory Authority. When Counsel questioned about the clarification which had been obtained by the NMRA relating to this drug, witness had produced a document given by the local agent. According to that letter the Russian Government was not providing the Certificate of Pharmaceutical Products (COPP).
A lot of expensive medicinal drugs are exported to Sri Lanka by various countries