A workable pricing mechanism is needed for the Sri Lankan pharmaceutical sector to move to the next level, senior members of the Sri Lanka Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry (SLPTA) said.
They said that when this is done there would be a price control mechanism and drugs would not be sold at a lower price.
“Drugs sold at lower price mostly compromise them being brought through baggage carriers, which have no assurance of quality.”
The implementation of a transparent, consultative and predictable pricing mechanism for price-controlled medicines will also help to increase local production as they know in addition to the buyback guarantee they have a ‘fixed price’ for their products. Today over 15% of the market is made of local manufacturing which is a significant increase within the past 10 years.
During the recent past there were several legal issues in the industry and the courts too have instructed the parties to cooperate on formulating a pricing mechanism since 2018, but the NMRA has failed to comply with this instruction to date.
“One of the main reasons being the regular changes in leadership of the institution. Government should also implement an accredited online platform to improve efficiency and clarity in the registration process.”
This could be done by implementing a comprehensive software system that connects hospitals, the Health Ministry and the State Pharmaceutical Corporation.”
Association members said that setting up a National Quality Assurance Laboratory for Pharmaceuticals too is a need of the hour for the pharma sector.
Today the local pharma industry is worth USD 500 million, out of which 300 million is made up of the private sector and 200 million is the tender (government) sector. The pharma sector (State and private) generates 172.13 billion, of which 129.13 billion is from the private sector.
