From: Daily FT
- Reveals former NMRA Board had approved medicines without necessary technical documentation despite Health Services Director General advising against such procurements
- Hastily scheduled Board meeting gets approval to list of medicines citing prior Cabinet endorsement
- Despite Medicines Evaluation Committee objected to approving 300 medicines without registration, list was sent for waiver of registration
- Some approved medicines were from previously blacklisted companies
The Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) has uncovered serious discrepancies in the procurement of medicines during the tenure of former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella.
The revelations emerged during a COPE session this week, attended by top health officials including representatives from the National Medicine Regulatory Authority (NMRA) and Health Services Director General Dr. Asela Gunawardena.
During the proceedings, NMRA Chairman Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama and CEO Saveen Semage confirmed that the former NMRA Board had issued approvals for medicines without the necessary technical documentation.
Dr. Gunawardena, expressing concerns over transparency, stated that he had refused to attend certain Board meetings and had formally advised against approving purchases without proper documentation.
“I received a file mentioning this special path to purchase medicines. I sent a note to the Health Ministry Secretary not to grant permission without the relevant documents. I gave my recommendations on the matter, which is the utmost I can do in this situation,” he explained.
Further details emerged when NMRA Board member Dr. Pradeep Kumarasinghe De Silva, disclosed that a critical Board meeting had been unexpectedly scheduled without prior notice, just before a staff dinner — where the medicine procurement issue was raised at the meeting. “At the end of the Board meeting, a document was submitted with several medicines, seeking approval. As the list had a lot of medicines, I inquired why this was not being discussed and we were informed it cannot be discussed and that Cabinet approval has already been granted for the list of medicines. Therefore, the matter was also not discussed,” he said.
Adding to the controversy, Prof. Priyadarshani Galappaththi, a member of the Expert Committee investigating anaphylaxis cases linked to drugs in healthcare institutions in 2023, revealed that a list of 300 medicines had been sent to the Medicines Evaluation Committee for approval.
“The list was sent for waiver of registration. As the Medicines Evaluation Committee, we objected to the list and against granting approval. But, we were informed that it contained essential medicines and if not approved, could result in a shortage of medicines in Sri Lanka,” she noted.
Prof. Galappaththi also pointed out that some of the medicines approved for purchase were supplied by companies that had previously been “blacklisted.”
The COPE committee was informed that at the time of these transactions, Prof. S. D. Jayaratne was serving as the head of the NMRA, and Dr. Vijith Gunasekera was its CEO.