Kasturi Chellaraja Wilson re-elected as SLCPI chief

The Sri Lanka Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry (SLCPI) unanimously re-elected Kasturi Chellaraja Wilson as its president for the year 2020/21, at the 59th Annual General Meeting held earlier this week. 
Ms. Chellaraja Wilson, Managing Director of Hemas Pharmaceuticals and soon to be CEO of the Group, will head the chamber for the second year and along with the new office-bearers and membership, will drive the healthcare agenda of the Country together with government and private sector stakeholders.  
In a media release issued by the chamber, she said that healthcare was moving towards personalized medicine - medical treatments that are tailored to the individual characteristics of each patient - and, that the pharmaceutical industry had an important role to play in delivering responsible and high-quality medicine.
In her keynote address, she also called for a sincere commitment of the industry to self-regulate. "We are all Sri Lankan. Yes, we run businesses, but the wellbeing of our patients should be our priority," she emphasized.
"We are prepared to partner with the government to implement a fair pricing mechanism," she explained, adding that pricing regulations, the devaluation of the rupee, an overall rise in the rate of inflation and the absence of a price mechanism has posed great challenges to the industry in the recent years. Unlike other import-heavy essentials like fuel, pharmaceutical products are not subject to a pricing mechanism recognized by both industry and regulator.
The office-bearers of SLCPI for the year 2020/21 are Senior Vice President - Sanjiva Wijesekera, Executive Director, George Steuart Health (Pvt) Ltd; Vice President - Azam Jaward, Managing Director, Cipla Pharma Lanka Ltd; Hon. Secretary - Rolf Blaser, CEO/Managing Director, A.Baur & Co. (Pvt) Ltd; and Treasurer - Sirimal Fernando, Deputy Managing Director, Astron Limited. 

From left to right - Secretary - Rolf Blaser, Immediate Past President- Shyam Sathasivam, Senior Vice President - Sanjiva Wijesekera, President – Ms. Kasturi Chellaraja Wilson, Vice President - Azam Jaward, and Treasurer - Sirimal Fernando.