Sunday Times 2
NMRA signs agreement with Moratuwa Uni to design new building and National QA lab
View(s):The National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) signed an Agreement with the Moratuwa University on Friday (March 12) to start the design process for its proposed new office complex and the new science facility for the National Medicines Quality Assurance Laboratory (NMQAL).
The Moratuwa University has been approved by the Cabinet of Ministers to function as the design and project consultants to the NMRA.
The cost of building and equipping the entire complex estimated at around Rs. 3 to 3.5 billion will be borne by the NMRA.
NMRA Chairman Prof. Asita de Silva stated this was a long-awaited project to modernise the national regulator. The NMRA is financially independent and does not take any funds from the Treasury for recurrent and capital expenditure.
“Under the direction of the Board of NMRA, we have worked hard to set aside these funds over 3-4 years with Treasury approval for this purpose,” he said.
With the intervention of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the NMRA has been allocated three acres of land at Narahenpita for the proposed buildings, which has also received Cabinet approval.
“As a WHO-benchmarked regulator, the NMRA has taken many steps to modernise the institution as well as increase its efficiency and transparency. Our workflow and document management systems are digitalised. We have established strong links with the TGA, the Australian medicines regulator, for information sharing and have a strategic development plan mapped out by the WHO. Improving infrastructure facilities and quality assurance capacity are main pillars in this strategic plan. All these improvements will benefit the patients in our country,” added Prof. de Silva.
Moratuwa University Vice Chancellor Prof. Niranjan Gunawardena, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof. K. Mahanama, Prof. Samitha Manawadu, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Prof. D. Chandrasekera, NMRA CEO Dr. Kamal Jayasinghe and the University Registrar participated in the signing ceremony.