According to Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, Sri Lanka would expedite applications to register additional suppliers, increasing competition and putting a stop to the delayed registration of medications.
The National Medical Regulation Authority had a backlog of papers that were not promptly cleared, which was decreasing competitiveness.
“There was an issue with suppliers’ registration,” Minister Jayatissa stated. Within these institutions, there were procedures to expedite the registration of certain suppliers and postpone the registration of others.
“We are working to address this.
There are currently just roughly 450 files left at the NMRA in the registration procedure. We have lowered the 2,500 that were there.
There is less competition when there are fewer suppliers listed for a certain medication. According to Minister Jayatissa, there was occasionally only one source for medication.
He declared, “We will register more suppliers.” “We can do justice by the people in this way. We acted instead of just talking. Soon, we will be able to observe the outcomes.
Therefore, we extend an invitation to further suppliers to register. Talk to us about any issues that may arise.
The so-called Yahapalana administration established the NMRA, creating a new agency for price controls and starting a price control mania under the guise of price regulation.
No business is required to increase productivity under cost-based price control since bureaucrats use “costs” to support price increases.
Analysts forewarned as early as 2015 that the NMRA’s registration reduction policy would result in less competition and greater costs.
While Colombo burns due to the declining rupee, Sri Lanka’s pharmaceutical company controls Neros’ meddling.
IN November 2015, EN’s Economic column stated, “According to a media conference given by some medical practitioners accompanied by Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne, they wanted to limit the number of different makes of drugs that were available.”
Additionally, they aimed to limit the number of registered businesses that may submit bids for hospital medicine tenders.
Was this done purely for fun? Or did pharmaceutical firms bribe them to create oligopolies, which would limit supplies and speed up processes? No, it seems that approving so many medications was too much work for them.
“In their convoluted reasoning – whatever that is – these doctors and bureaucrats thought that a wider and freer supply drove prices up. They seem to have no idea at all that the opposite was true in reality.
“If the number of drugs are reduced, the supply of drugs will be reduced and there will be upward pressure on prices.
“If suppliers are reduced, the newly created National Medicinal Drugs Regulatory Authority will then have a reason for existence – to control prices it has driven by its own torpedo aimed at an existing much freer market.
“There are already reports that the NMRA has begun to harass the company that delivers the life-saving drug to your neighbourhood pharmacy.
“When the NMRA delays approvals and sends the pharmaceutical company officials from pillar to post and mistreats and humiliates them as media reports are now saying they are doing, that agency is hurting you the sick person by driving up the cost of drug supply.”
Beyond lowering competition, the NMRA also became embroiled in a number of scandals and accusations of corruption.
There were claims of data and files being erased.
Removing NMRA data poses “no risks,” according to the relevant Sri Lankan government.
The NMRA also accompanied the marketing of generic medications, which ultimately resulted in patient deaths from either tainted or ineffective medications.
In Sri Lanka or elsewhere, generic medicine manufacturers are not required to carry out clinical trials and demonstrate their effectiveness.
