March 16, Colombo (LNW): Minister of Health Dr Nalinda Jayatissa recently visited two of Sri Lanka’s prominent pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities situated within the Pallekele Investment Zone in Kandy, as part of efforts to assess the country’s local medicine production capacity.
The minister toured the production plants operated by Kelun LifeScience (Pvt) Ltd and Celagen Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, both of which play a significant role in supplying medicines to the domestic healthcare sector. Government officials noted that the two facilities collectively manufacture close to 400 varieties of pharmaceutical products used in hospitals and pharmacies across the country.
Authorities also highlighted that these companies are among the few pharmaceutical manufacturers in Sri Lanka to have secured the European Union’s Good Manufacturing Practice certification, a globally recognised quality standard that reflects compliance with strict production and safety requirements.
During the visit, the minister observed several stages of the manufacturing process and reviewed the quality control procedures adopted at the factories. Discussions were also held regarding the companies’ future expansion plans and their potential contribution to strengthening the nation’s pharmaceutical self-sufficiency.
Kelun LifeScience (Pvt) Ltd additionally operates one of the country’s key private facilities for the large-scale production of saline solutions, an essential medical supply widely used in hospitals.
Senior representatives of the two firms, including chairman V. Nadarajah and executive director I. Sathyamoorthy, were present during the inspection and briefed the minister on the operations and ongoing developments within the companies.