Sri Lanka to regulate medicine prices to prompt high quality drug usage 

Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Dr. Rajitha Senaratne revealed plans to regulate the prices of several drugs, which would bring about a reduction in the price of 5,000 brands of medicine in the market by the end of the year.

The minister disclosed that the government plans to regulate the prices of 27 more drugs, bringing the total number of price regulated medicines to 100, adding that these drugs were being sold under 5,000 brands in the market.


“They (previously) used the medicines occasionally due to the cost. But today, they use drugs properly. As such, the trade in high quality drugs has increased from Rs. 100,000 to one million. It shows that the general public has access to high quality drugs,” he explained, while addressing officials and foreign drug suppliers at the 18th Convention of the Association of Drug Suppliers of the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

The discussion also focussed on the other benefits consumers would receive from this measure. It highlighted that present regulation does not permit the same drug to be registered under many brand names, thereby seeking to ensure that only quality drugs are made available to the public and at reasonable prices.