Maliban to set up US $ 15mn pharmaceutical manufacturing factory

Maliban Group officials and  Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceutical State Minister Prof. Channa Jayasumana (third from right) at agreement signing event in Colombo this week 

• Maliban Bio Ventures to begin construction of factory in June
• Operations expected to kick off by 2025
• Will initially focus on value addition of drugs for cancer

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam
Maliban, one of Sri Lanka’s largest manufacturers, distributors and marketers of confectionery items, sealed an agreement with the government this week to commence manufacturing of pharmaceuticals.

The Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceutical State Ministry approved the new venture of Maliban this Tuesday (22), for which an agreement was inked to kick off the setting up of the factory.

The pharmaceutical plant will be established under the banner Maliban Bio Ventures (Pvt.) Ltd and will be located in Oyamadu, Anuradhapura. 
The factory will be set up with an investment of US $ 15 million and is expected to start operations by 2025.

As the necessary approvals have been obtained, come June the construction of the factory will commence, Maliban Bio Ventures CEO S.M.D. Suriyakumara told Mirror Business.
The 40,000-50,000 square feet factory will be constructed over a land area of four acres. For the first few years of operations, the factory will focus entirely on the value addition of monoclonal antibody (MAB) drugs for cancer. Only after bringing in the required technology the factory will commence the manufacturing of the drugs for cancer. Sri Lanka currently imports its entire requirement of drugs for the treatment of cancer.

In March 2021, the Cabinet nod was given to the setting up of a pharmaceutical manufacturing zone in Anuradhapura.

A total of Rs.30 billion is expected from selected 24 local investors. The government has given the investors a time frame of 36 months to kick off the operations.  The objective of the pharmaceutical manufacturing zone is to encourage local manufacturing of medicinal drugs in the country, so that Sri Lanka eventually becomes self-sufficient in this regard.  Sri Lanka is on the brink of facing a massive drug shortage, as imports of the same are hampered due to the lack of foreign exchange in the country. The All-Island Private Pharmacy Owners’ Association (ACPPOA) cautioned earlier this week that the country would face a drug shortage within the next three months.