Pharmaceutical companies have urged the Government to devise a pricing mechanism before revising the prices of all pharmaceutical items.
The pharma companies claim that the prices are not determined only by exchange rate fluctuations but by several other factors, including transport costs, electricity costs, and bank interest rates.
Sri Lanka Chamber of Pharmaceutical industry (SLCPI) President Sanjiva Wijesekera said the industry was awaiting a pricing mechanism similar to that of fuel, but that there had been no development so far.
“We are not able to bring down the prices. We have been discussing a proper and transparent pricing mechanism for over four years,” he said.
Commenting on the price revision, Wijesekera stressed that in the case of pharmaceutical items, it was not only the dollar rate that decided the prices.
“As we already discussed with the Minister, we are a heavily energy-dependent industry. We have to maintain cold rooms for storage and freezer trucks for transportation of medicines,” he said, adding that when deciding pharmaceutical prices, factors such as exchange rate, bank interest rates, and energy rates should be considered.
“The prices can be brought down if the Government comes up with a proper mechanism,” he added.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said a meeting would be held between industry stakeholders and the pricing committee to decide on the percentage by which prices should be revised and that the new prices would be announced by mid-June.
In 2021, the 9% increase in medicine prices led to an increase in the prices of several essential medicines including azithromycin (oral antibiotic), albendazole (used to treat parasitic worm infections), amoxicillin (antibiotic), paracetamol (used to treat fever and mild to moderate pain), and cefuroxime (antibiotic).
In 2022, local pharmaceutical prices were revised twice to meet the gap caused by the drastic devaluation of the rupee in 2021. In March 2022, the prices of 60 essential medicines were raised by 29% by an extraordinary gazette notification.
By the time the March price revision was announced, a total of 60 essential medicines had a maximum retail price prescribed for them. Again in April, former Minister of Health Prof. Channa Jayasumana issued a special gazette notification allowing a 40% increase in the prices of 60 pharmaceutical drugs.
As learnt by The Sunday Morning, last year’s price revisions had affected around 800 generic drugs in the local market in addition to the 71 essential medicines declared by the Government.
Therefore, as alleged by pharmacy owners, the price cap imposed by the Government applies only to 71 items declared by the Government and the prices of other items have been increased by the importers by around 600-800%.