Sri Lanka’s State Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Corporation to increase production through Japanese assistance
The State Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Corporation (SPMC) of Sri Lanka has planned to double its annual production of tablets with Japanese aid and meet 70 percent of the country’s drug demand following a refurbishment.
In 2011, the SPMC had manufactured only 43.6 percent of the local pharmaceutical demand.
The upgrade was funded by the Japanese government, which had provided 1,240 million yen, under the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project “Improvement of Basic Social Services Targeting Emerging Regions.”
The upgrading project had included new equipment, construction of a material storage building and renovating a part of the SPMC building in Ratmalana.
The JICA project has provided a total of 3,935 million yen (about Rs. 5,232 million).
The remaining funds have been utilized for the refurbishment of four secondary hospitals in Central, Sabaragamuwa, North Western and Eastern provinces and procuring 86 ambulances.
OSL take:
The upgrading of the SPMC would result in an increase its manufacturing capacity. However, the corporation is still unable to meet the total demand for pharmaceuticals in the local market. Hence, there is an opportunity for foreign pharmaceutical companies to explore the possibility of setting up pharmaceuticals manufacturing plants in Sri Lanka. Companies could also look at exporting pharmaceuticals to foreign markets after setting up base in Sri Lanka.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20181016/Z_4 |