National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) Chairman Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama said medicine shortages in Sri Lanka have declined significantly, although around 34 items continue to face availability issues.
Speaking on pharmaceutical regulation, Wijewickrama said maximum retail prices had been successfully introduced for several categories of medicines, including commonly used drugs such as paracetamol and amoxicillin. Brands priced above the stipulated ceilings were required to reduce their prices.
He also sought to dispel the perception that more expensive medicines are necessarily of better quality, stressing that all pharmaceuticals approved by the NMRA are required to meet the relevant quality standards, regardless of their brands or prices.
Addressing the continuing shortages, Wijewickrama said some multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers had closed specific production plants and withdrawn from Sri Lanka and several other countries. This had resulted in difficulties in maintaining supplies of certain medicines and required hospitals to shift to alternative brands.
He said such changes had caused temporary delays in some procedures, but alternative brands were available for almost all the affected medicines. Hospitals also have the authority to make local purchases when medicines are urgently required, he said.
The NMRA Chairman also acknowledged staffing and administrative constraints affecting the Medical Supplies Division, saying existing regulatory structures and staff allocations had been designed several years ago and no longer matched the current workload.
He said discussions were underway with the Government to address the issue, while immediate measures were being taken to recruit additional officers and improve the efficiency of the division.
