• Health Min. says it only gives recognition of the Indian Pharmacopoeia in SL for import

The Government stated that the agreement reached with the Indian Government regarding the pharmaceutical sector is to recognise the Indian Pharmacopoeia in Sri Lanka, and that this will not affect the powers and functions of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA).

Speaking at the weekly Cabinet media briefing yesterday (8), Cabinet Spokesperson, Minister of Health Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said that recognising the Indian Pharmacopoeia would simplify the work done by the NMRA in importing and certifying medicines, in a context where 85% of Sri Lanka's imported medicines come from India. 

He stated that this would make the certification process much easier. Dr. Jayatissa said that the NMRA currently recognises three Pharmacopoeias – the British Pharmacopoeia, the United States Pharmacopoeia, and the Japanese Pharmacopoeia. 

“We import more than 80% of the drugs used in Sri Lanka. Out of that, 85% is imported from India. This makes things easier. Even though we imported drugs from India, we sourced information regarding these drugs from a third party. After this, it will be easier for the NMRA to perform its duties in importing Indian drugs,” he said. 

He further noted that the NMRA has the final authority to decide on the standards of imported drugs, even if the Government recognises the aforementioned pharmacopoeias. 

“This has been totally misinterpreted. This is not a betrayal of the country. This is a book that includes all the details about the drugs. Anyone can easily go on the Internet and find out which countries are using these pharmacopoeias,” he added. 

He further noted that the import of medicines is being carried out while also implementing a programme to protect domestic manufacturers, claiming that a number of benefits and facilities have been provided to them for manufacturing medicines.