Govt. plans to establish labs for medicine testing: Health Secretary

The Secretary to the Ministry of Health, Dr. Anil Jasinghe, has announced that the government is focusing on the establishment of several laboratories to test medicines in the near future.

Dr. Jasinghe also indicated that an investigation is planned into recent allegations regarding the importation of medicines by a blacklisted company.

Speaking in response to several questions raised by journalists in Kandy, Dr. Jasinghe elaborated on the government’s plans:

“These tests should be conducted at various stages of quality checking. However, so far, such testing has only been carried out when a complaint arises. This approach is insufficient. Now, the government is concentrating on setting up one or two testing laboratories in Sri Lanka,” he said.

“Although Sri Lanka is a small country, its procurement process is much larger than that of many developed countries, given that the healthcare system is state-run and the supply of medicines is centralized,” he added.