A story not to be swallowed

With reference to a letter by Dr. Balasubramaniam, published on May 11 under the headline ‘Taking issue on certain medical points’, we wish to clarify the following:

The letter says the National Medicinal Drugs Policy (NMDP) was unanimously adopted following two workshops in 2005. It is true that the Sri Lanka Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry (SLCPI) was invited to participate in these two workshops, which we did in good faith. However, it must be emphasised that the NMDP was developed by a few individuals without accommodating the views of the manufacturers, the pharmaceutical industry, professional colleges and the general public.

The very fact that Dr. Balasubramaniam confirms that a so-called “national policy” was formulated after just two one-day workshops proves our point that there was only very limited consultation and debate; in fact, the whole exercise was stage managed to claim it had been formulated with due consultation. The fact is that the voice of the industry was shouted down, disregarded and overruled by a few self-appointed convenors with the assistance of some belligerent university students they had brought along to these two meetings.

The Sri Lanka Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry categorically denies the claim that this was a consensus document. We challenge Dr. Balasubramaniam to show any document where such consensus has been reached and that all parties have signed to unanimously adopt this so-called National Medicinal Drugs Policy.

Referring to current consultations to develop a new National Medicinal Drugs Regulatory Act (NMDRA), we wish to state that the same tactic was adopted by the convenor of the National Standing Committee (NSC), where notice of a two-day workshop to develop the said National Medicinal Drugs Act was confirmed via e-mail a day earlier, informing members of the NSC to attend the workshop on April 24 and 25, 2008 at a city hotel.

Most NSC members were unable to attend this meeting, including the SLCPI and the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association, at such short notice. Also, the workshop clashed with other important meetings, such as the meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee and the Advertising Regulatory Committee of the Ministry of Healthcare & Nutrition, which were scheduled for April 23, and with much prior notice.

However, it was very interesting to read in the newspapers of April 30, 2008 that the Draft National Medicinal Drugs Act had been finalised at a two-day workshop with the full participation of the members of the NSC. More lies!

The current Drug Regulatory Authority Act (modelled after the Canadian Drug Act) of the Cosmetic Devices and Drugs Authority (CDDA), under the Ministry of Healthcare & Nutrition, has been both effective and efficient. This is proven by the fact that Sri Lanka enjoys some of the lowest pharmaceutical prices in the world, as confirmed by the WHO/Health Action International surveys (incidentally, Dr. Balasubramaniam claims to be adviser and co-ordinator of Health Action International for the whole of Asia and the Pacific!). Sri Lanka as a nation has also been spared widespread and major drugs shortages and scarcities. All of which point to the country’s well-developed drug regulatory environment.

Finally, the SLCPI wishes to put on record that CDDA enjoys the full confidence of the SLCPI and the public at large. The clamouring for a new National Medicinal Drugs Regulatory Act and an Independent Drug Regulatory Authority by a few individuals outside of the Ministry of Healthcare is motivated by their desire to appoint themselves to positions of power and personally benefit from it .The NMDP and the NMDR Act are their tools to attain that end.

Secretary, Sri Lanka Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry