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Minister calls for domestic medicine production to curtail USD 500 Mn imports
Colombo, Feb 15 (Daily Mirror) - In a bid to address the substantial financial outlay of over USD 500 million spent annually on importing medicines, Minister of Health and Industry, Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, underscored the need for domestic production.
He said this during a special discussion held with key officials from the Medical Supplies Division, the State Pharmaceutical Corporation and the National Medicines Regulatory Authority.
The discussion, chaired by Dr. Pathirana, delved into critical issues surrounding the regulation, supply and distribution of medicines. Emphasis was placed on the need to streamline tender procedures, ensre the continuous provision of high-quality drugs to hospitals, and optimizing the drug import system.
Dr. Pathirana highlighted the necessity of bolstering the domestic production of medicines as the most viable solution to mitigate the hefty import expenditure.
Furthermore, the Minister stressed on the importance of conducting an annual preliminary study to forecast medicine requirements for the forthcoming year, underlining proactive measures to enhance the nation's pharmaceutical self-sufficiency.
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