Cancer vaccine once sold at Rs. 76,000 reduced to Rs. 370

Colombo, January 21 (Daily Mirror) - In the wake of statements about a cancer vaccine that was once sold for Rs.76,000 now being reduced to Rs. 370, medical sources confirmed the authenticity of the story to the Daily Mirror.

According to sources, in 2018, the maximum retail price (MRP) of the vaccine was Rs.76,000, which was later reduced to Rs. 54,000 last year.

Under the new government, the price dropped to Rs.370 after three new suppliers were introduced to the market, ending the monopoly previously held by a single company.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr. Hansaka Wijemuni recently made a statement regarding the issue, who also said that billions of rupees worth of expired medicines are destroyed every month by the Ministry of Health.

“These drugs are sent to the Puttalam cement factory for incineration as part of the disposal process,” he added.