‘Maintaining pharmaceutical standards crucial’

H.D.H Senewiratne

Sri Lanka’s pharmaceutical industry worth US $ 3.5 billion needs to focus in enhancing the quality of drugs that go to the end user i.e. patient. Therefore, Sri Lanka Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry plays a pivotal role in maintaining standards, its immediate past president Vish Govindasamy said.

“At present the country has more than 30,000 pharmacies which makes it mandatory, transporting and distributing all drugs/medicine in cool vehicle and to air condition all pharmacies in the country,”Govindasamy told Daily News Business. According to market research the pharmaceutical market has grown by 17.55 percent against the same period last year indicating development in the sector with the expanding of the pharmaceutical sector,” he said.

He said the chamber consist of 75 percent of pharmaceutical companies in the country are now conform to all international standards Sri Lankan healthcare sector can boast of being on par with the high standards of the developed world and further expansion into more rural areas as well as the development of the northern and eastern regions of the country which had deteriorated due to the war will create further potential for growth and expansion of the private healthcare sector and thus the future opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry look very promising.

Statistics have revealed that the private retail market accounts for approximately 60 percent of sales, while the government hospital purchases account for approximately 28 percent, private hospitals account for approximately 10 percent and dispensing family physicians account for approximately 2% of the total pharmaceutical business.