Sri Lanka’s Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena has ordered the suspension of tenders awarded to 10 Indian drug companies for violating tender procedures, messing up delivery schedules, and causing regular shortages of essential drugs, Daily News reported Tuesday.
Indian drug companies supply the Sri Lankan state health sector 85 percent of its drug requirement and earn about $99.2 million every year.
According the government spokesman, the minister Sirisena ordered the suspension of tenders to Indian drug companies during a recent monthly review meeting. He directed the officials to buy the same drugs from drug companies in other countries, even if it costs more.
“The Health Ministry purchase drugs from 10 Indian drug companies. These companies never provide drugs on time. These companies always delay supplying drugs and supply in small quantities in several shipments. Some drugs also fail quality tests,” the spokesman said.
Low quality drugs from India
About 100 Indian drugs suppliers supply drugs to Sri Lankan Health ministry. The service of Indian drug suppliers to Sri Lanka has been littered with plain negligence and cussedness. Recently, an insect was found in bottle of syrup in a batch from a Chennai-based company.
The entire batch, thankfully, was removed from the market. In 2009, six Indian companies were blacklisted for two years for supplying, spurious and substandard drugs that could cause great harm to patients. But the companies pleaded not guilty.
To make matters worse, the Indian government wheedled the government to get the ban lifted.
Pissed off by the drug companies’ attitude and thoroughly bankrupt service, the Sri Lankan minister ordered the suspension.
“The Minister said that because of the shortage of quality drugs, poor patients who came to government hospitals had to be asked to buy quality drugs in the market at prices they could not afford,” the newspaper reports.
The minister, however, did not reveal the names of blacklisted drug companies.
