Low quality Indian drug to be destroyed

By Nadia Fazlulhaq

More than one million capsules of ‘Salbutamol – used for the treatment of respiratory ailments – are being withdrawn from public hospitals and will be destroyed as they have been found to be of low quality, an official said.

The mg capsules were imported from India by the State Pharmaceutical Corporation (SPC) at a cost of about Rs. 6.5 million, the Health Ministry’s Medical Supplies Division Director Dr. Hemantha Beneragama said. He said laboratory tests had shown that the drugs were of poor quality and their withdrawal had caused a major shortage of this widely-used medicine in public hospitals.

Government Medical Officers Association Secretary Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya said this Salbutamol scandal was a massive waste of public funds and action should be taken against SPC officials responsible for it. He said the administration of the health sector was politicised and officials did not go through the proper procedure in purchasing essential drugs.

Dr. Padeniya said the SPC had earlier made purchases from the State Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Corporation (SPMC) but now it was importing from Indian companies and that had led to the waste or public funds.