Legislation to impose price controls on medicinal drugs will be introduced in Parliament within a month, Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena said.
The pricing formula to be so introduced would be jointly implemented by the Health Ministry and the Ministry of Trade and Consumer Affairs, he said.
The new legislation, the draft of which has already been approved by the Attorney General’s Department would be finalized next week, he said. It would then be presented to Parliament.
The laws were being introduced to stop drugs being sold at varying prices. “The same drug is being sold in ten different pharmacies at ten different prices. This has to be changed to bring about some uniformity,” he said.
The new laws will also make it mandatory for the prices of the drugs to be clearly displayed.
The Health Ministry would also set up a website to keep the people informed of the prices and any changes.
A National Medicinal Regulatory Authority would also be set up under the new legislation. |
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