(UTV | COLOMBO) – Drug importers have taken steps to suspend drug supply to about 4,000 pharmacies from yesterday (8).
The rupee has depreciated against the US dollar. Importers also point out that there will be massive losses as there will be a shortage of dollars for currently imported drugs and letters of credit.
Therefore, the importers have requested the Minister of Drug Supply and Production, Prof. Channa Jayasumana, to allow an immediate increase in the price of the drug. The Board of Drug Importers is also scheduled to meet the Foreign Minister today (9).
The importers claim that the required medicines are not available to the Medical Distribution Division of the Ministry of Health as the importers have stopped importing the drugs.
Importers have also demanded the removal of price controls on 75 types of drugs following the hike in drug prices. However, the National Drug Regulatory Authority has said that the prices of controlled drugs will be revised in the near future.
Chandika Gankanda, president of the Private Pharmacy Owners’ Association, said that the supply of medicines to pharmacies has been suspended since noon yesterday (8). He also stressed that only pharmacies are currently being sold.
Pharmaceutical importers import about 4,000 types of drugs a year. Most of them are also reported to be medicines used for non-communicable diseases.