News
Questions linger over wrinkles in drugs purchases
View(s):By Chrishanthi Christopher
The pharmaceuticals regulator last week, refuted claims made by segments of the health sector that the drug shortage in hospitals was caused by refusal to approve unregistered imports under the Indian credit line.
National Medicine Regulatory Authority chief, Prof. S. D.Jayaratne said that the SPC had not refused imports of any drugs under the US$200 million Indian credit line.
“We do not ask questions. Any drug imported through credit lines are approved. We waive the registration process,’’ Prof Jayaratne said.
The State Pharmaceutical Corporation had alleged that although funds from the Indian credit line could be used, the NMRA has refused to approve imports from certain Indian companies, citing that they have not been registered.
Chairman, Sarath Liyanage said that the credit line requires purchases be made from Indian companies.
There are some obstacles in using the Indian credit line.
First, attempts to buy from Indian manufacturers, drugs that had previously been bought from other countries, have failed because of NMRA’s refusal to approve citing lack of registration.
Also, some Indian companies, they had negotiated with, had refused payments in Indian rupees.
However, the SPC Chairman said that the credit line has been useful to make purchases from Indian companies.
The SPC and the private pharmaceutical drug importers have already used up around US$100 million to purchase drugs from India. An estimated 200 types of pharmaceutical drugs and around 9,000 surgical items have been purchased, he said.
Last week, many hospitals reported a shortage of drugs. The Karapitiya Hospital, the Lady Ridgeway Hospital, and Apeksha Hospital were among them.
Health unions claimed that drugs for diabetes, hypertension, and epilepsy were in short supply. At some hospitals there are no antibiotics and anti-fungal drugs.
“Around 60 essential drugs and eight cancer drugs are in short supply,’’ the Government Pharmacists Association said.
However, it was not possible to make an estimate of the shortage as the MSD data system indicated zero balance of several medicines in its system.
Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, chairman of the Professional Forum of Physicians on Medical and Civil Rights, said at a media briefing, that even the Committee on Public Enterprises had been unable to figure out the shortage.
The College of Medical Laboratory Science placed the blame on the corrupt purchasing system adopted by the authorities.
“The NMRA and SPC have manipulated and have granted registration to companies that had quoted the highest prices surpassing procurement protocols,’’ president Ravi Kumudesh said.
He said that the drug shortage has not been evaluated and the root cause behind the disruption in the supply chain has not been determined. “If there is no replenishment on time, there is a break in the supply chain.’’ he conceded. Several essential drugs are available only for the next two weeks.
The SPC said that the dollar crisis means there are no funds to maintain a buffer stock for a year.
“The dollar crisis, increase in cost of imported raw material, increase in production cost, and sharp increase in fuel prices have also contributed,’’ he said. He said purchases through the Indian credit line involved several steps including the approval of the Treasury and the High Commission of India. “It takes about two months for documents to be processed,’’ he said.
However, he said only 10 drugs were in short supply. But, the different strengths of the same drug could add up to around 100 drugs, he said.
Doctors in hospitals use alternatives and split dosages for patients using smaller doses, he said.
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