Vial with glass:

Ministry stops purchasing drugs from Indian company

Nadira Gunatilleke

The Health Ministry temporarily stopped purchasing drugs from the Indian company which supplied a vial containing the Cloxacillin injection with a piece of glass, a ministry spokesman said.

"Drugs will not be purchased from this company till the investigations are completed," the spokesman said.

He said Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena ordered the Cosmetic Devices and Drugs Control Authority (CDDA) to remove the injection Cloxacillin from use in Sri Lanka as soon as the incident was reported from the Colombo South (Kalubowila) Teaching Hospital.

The report on the contaminated injection vial is to be handed over to the Indian government.

The CDDA commenced an investigation after a piece of glass was found in an injection vial imported from India. It was produced by Biochem Pharmaceutical Industries, India. If 10 complaints are made regarding a company in three years, the Health Ministry will blacklist the company, the spokesman said.Minister Sirisena also ordered health officials to amend the tender procedure enabling the ministry to claim 100 percent of the money paid to any company when quality failures occur. Minister Sirisena held discussions with the Indian Health Minister and relevant sectors in connection with drugs imported from Indian drug companies.