Pharma industry representatives expressed willingness to work with the government’ tackle the present shortage of pharmaceuticals in the country.

They have put forward their proposals to set the record straight and ensure the supply of medicinal drugs with the prompt intervention of the relevant authorities.    

Representatives of the Sri Lanka Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry said that they are prepared to work with the government and engage with relevant stakeholders to secure Sri Lanka’s immediate requirements for medicines and prevent medicine shortages.

SLCPI stated that solutions to dollar shortages and more importantly acceptable pricing mechanisms as well as immediately ironing out NMRA red tape for registrations are prerequisites.

At a press conference, the Sri Lanka Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry (SLCPI) addressed concerns over the shortage of essential medicines amidst the country’s ongoing economic crisis.

SLCPI officials confirmed current shortages in essential medicines and raised their deep concerns over supplies moving forward, including lifesaving drugs.

While the pharmaceutical industry has been affected by global issues such as logistics challenges, cost escalation of raw materials and inflation and Sri Lanka is not an exception to these challenges. 

Industry officials identified three key factors affecting the current shortage of essential medicines in Sri Lanka.

The pharmaceutical industry noted that they are currently unable to sustain supplies of essential medicines due to unrealistic price regulations set by the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA). All essential drugs are under price control since October 2016, without a pricing mechanism.

“A sustainable pricing mechanism will help adjust for key input costs changes such as the exchange rate, fuel costs, interest and inflation. The NMRA has been requested by the court to establish a price mechanism that is sustainable both to the industry and the patient. This has not happened yet”, SLCPI noted.

The industry further noted that there is undue delay at the NMRA in 1) granting the re-registration of products which have been available in the market for a considerable period, and 2) new product registrations. With regulatory fees increasing by an average of 11-fold, the service of the regulator is below expectation.

“There is a severe delay in processing the documents for granting product registration approvals and import licenses”, SLCPI stated. 

 “85% of pharmaceutical products are imported, and these imports are paid for by US dollars. The current US dollar shortage in the country has increased the difficulty of importing essential medicines. 

In addition to this, companies have been unable to pay their dues. As a result, suppliers are no longer interested in supplying to Sri Lanka”, stressed SLCPI.

The situation is further worsened as banks find it difficult to honour the Letters of Credit (L/Cs) that are opened to import drugs.

 Bank delays in opening the L/Cs until there are sufficient dollars has resulted in shipments being scheduled according to the availability of dollars and not according to the needs of the patients, the industry warned.

02nd March 2022

Photo Caption:

Talavou Alailima receiving the award from Minister of Youth and Sports Namal Rajapaksa at the 7th Silk Sports Awards

With the view of recognizing those who have contributed to uplifting the sports arena in the country and in honoring their continued and relentless passion, the SILK SPORTS AWARDS held recently for the seventh consecutive year bestowed Talavou Alailima with the Duncan White Sports Excellence and Contribution Award.

This specific award is bestowed on those who have achieved the highest level of sports performances in Sri Lanka and have made a significant contribution to the nation with their socially impactful initiatives. Some of the past recipients included Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardena, Dilantha Malagamuwa, and Roshan Mahanama.

‘‘First, I want to thank God for gracing my life with opportunities, which I know are not of me or any human hand and, my beautiful wife Shehara and my sons Joshua, Jonathan, and Jason, who gave me the wings to soar as eagles do. Life is about what we do for others and what we do for them is indispensable, important, and matters. What I have achieved, would not be possible, without all those who stood with me throughout the years both in my sports life and in all the social initiatives” said Talavou.

‘‘I would like to therefore honor and thank my coaches, even though many are no more with us, Bandara, Lakshman Alwis, Junior Rodrigo, Thiagaraja, Peter Carroll, Wane Geltz, and former record-holder and training partner Col. Ajith Jayakody. Doctors Thureraja, Seevali Jayawickrama, Thushara Matiwalage, Nishantha Gunasekara, Commissioners of Prisons Tissa Jayasinghe, Gamini Jayasinghe, Chandana Ekanayake, Pastor Rodney Periera, General Daya Ratnayake, Amantha Wejesuriya, Bandula Jayamanne, and Maurice Jega.’’

The 7th SILK AWARDS ceremony, was held on the 25th of February at the National Film Corporation under the patronage of Cabinet Minister of Youth and Sports, Namal Rajapaksa.

Talavou Alailima is an NCAA All American Athlete award winner, an Asian Championships Diploma holder, a South Asian Games Medalist, and a Sri Lanka record holder for the Shot Put and Discus throwing events for over 20 years and 14 years respectively. He has bettered the Sri Lanka record more times than any other athlete, in the history of Sri Lanka Track and Field and is the first Thrower to win a medal for Sri Lanka at an International Competition.

He has been the sports nutrition and strength training consultant for many Sri Lanka national teams, clubs, schools, and champion sportsmen for over 25 years and launched the first Track and Field Grand Prix in Sri Lanka, to push athletes to perform at the next level. His pioneering sports initiatives the Lion Warrior sports high-performance program, the SportUnleash sports talent identification algorithm for children, the Edge Sports Nutrition Supplement, and the all-in-one Proxone app ecosystem have been invaluable contributions to Sri Lanka sports. His social initiatives galvanized the residence of Colombo city, with his “Death to Dengue” effort to irradicate Dengue, and the setting up of gyms for the inmates of the Welikada Prison, Mahara Prison, and the Bogambara Prison.

Talavou Alailima is a USA-qualified Strength Training and Sports Nutrition Consultant, educated at Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania USA, and holds a Master of Sports Management degree from the IE Business School in Madrid, Spain. He went on to pioneer the Sri Lankan fitness industry with the Power World Gyms chain, the market leader since 1994 and in 2018, Power World also became the largest chain of gyms in Delhi and Bangalore, India.

Sri Lanka is aligning with innovation and accelerating into a new, digital-centric space, with the government working to create an inviting regulatory environment for blockchain use-cases to flourish, offering the country fresh and entirely new economic verticals.

One such enterprise capitalizing on Sri Lanka’s progressive approach to emerging technology markets such as Metaverse and Web 3.0 , is start-up incubator and 360 service provider, Grow. Recognizing the exciting growth potential that Southern Asia has to offer, the company has set up an operating base in Colombo, a move they hope will inspire others to follow.

The team’s new office, which is situated in One Galle Face Tower, recently welcomed the Sri Lankan Cabinet Minister for Youth and Sports, Namal Rajapaska to its opening. “We are proud and happy to have you guys here as young entrepreneurs in the blockchain technology sector, and taking Sri Lanka, leading Sri Lanka into the new era. As a government, myself, my secretaries here, the central bank, deputy governors, all of us, are excited to be here today and to welcome you all.”

“I’m sure this is going to be the incubator for many, many start-ups on the blockchain technology opportunities that are coming out in Sri Lanka and also in the region. So, congratulations, and our support is there. So, we want to see you working hard. I can assure that we as a government will support you 100pct. There are certain positive changes that we are looking at to facilitate you more in this part of the industry, and we will look at that in a very positive way and work together going forward,” Rajapaska said.

Speaking from the opening celebration, Founder and CEO, Peter Carroll said, “New technological economies are combining with widespread technological infrastructure and forming the building blocks of our economic future. The ways in which they are utilized and regulated will define social mobility for the youth of today. At Grow we firmly believe these times are part of a shift, from the innovation phase of a technology breakout to the early adoption phase of the blockchain based industries of Web 3.0.”

“As the opportunities unfold, we are seeing huge potential in Blockchain Gaming and the Metaverse, we believe with forward thinking leadership Sri Lanka can take a central role as an ecosystem driver for these fresh and exciting verticals.”

Sri Lanka and Port City Colombo, if developed correctly, could become one of the world’s leading hubs for frontier technologies. If the government can facilitate a “sandbox” environment for Web 3.0’s brightest minds, then the seeds of innovation may have fertile soil on which to grow. The opportunity is clearly one that excites Carroll.

“I mean, think about it, what drives an entrepreneur? Building! We build ideas, products, and businesses, so what could be more exciting than being here in Colombo and helping to build the people, economy, and tech infrastructure of a $120bn state-of-the-art Smart City? For us, the answer is simple: nothing! We want to engage with the Blue Chip companies of Web 3.0 like Animoca Brands, Polygon and encourage them to help us drive opportunity, to educate and build traction because we believe Central and Southern Asia can drive real adoption.”

GROW provide Web3 builders with idea curation, marketing support and an advisory network of leading experts in an effort to facilitate real world impact of blockchain technology. Let’s Grow Together. For more information, visit www.thegrowgroup.com.

Photo Caption:

1.The Grow Group Founder and CEO Peter Carroll speaking at its inaguration
2.State Minister of Digital Technology and Enterprise Development Hon. Namal Rajapaksa giving a speech