Tainted NMRA directors must be removed to restore trust in medical procurement process: Kumudesh

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Health Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana needs to change the tainted Board of Directors of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) if he is really keen to address the issues in medical procurement, President of the College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS), Ravi Kumudesh, says.

Attorney-at-Law Manoj Gamage, who represented former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, is a board member of the NMRA. He was present when a stock of bogus intravenous human immunoglobulin (IVIG) was procured by the Health Ministry, Kumudehs told The Island.

“It will be difficult for us to believe that Dr. Pathirana is acting in good faith, if the Minister, and the newly appointed head of the NMRA, plans to continue with the same board of directors. These people need to go to restore some trust,” he said.

Kumudesh added that NMRA still does not have a CEO. The newly appointed Chairman can’t do all the administrative work at the NMRA, he said.

“There is a management aspect and the institution needs an expert in management. Not only that, our main quality control lab, i.e., National Drug Quality Assurance Laboratory (NDQAL), has been operating without a director for the past few years. The whole world is talking about the quality control of our medicine. There is a large allocation for the improvement of medical drug quality testing in the budget. However, the quality assurance lab doesn’t have a director,” Kumudesh said.

Meanwhile, Society of Government Pharmacists (SGP) President Thushara Ranadeva said the NMRA leadership acted in a suspicious manner, from the beginning.

“When it was revealed that the Waiver of Registration (WOR), presented by the company that is involved with selling bogus immunoglobulin, was false, the then NMRA leadership started a media circus. Former Health Minister, Keshelya Rambukwella, former NMRA Chairman S.D. Jayaratne, and former CEO Dr. Vijith Gunasekera, should have informed the CID of this discovery and started an investigation. By talking about this in press conferences, these officials allowed some people involved in this to cover their tracks. A lot of vital documents needed for the investigation are missing. If an investigation was done in secret, the CID could have had an airtight case by now,” he said.

The CID on Thursday (28) recorded another statement from the owner of the company, which sold a stock of fake intravenous human immunoglobulin (IVIG) to the Health Ministry. The CID recorded the statement in compliance with an order issued by Maligakanda Magistrate Lochani Abeywickrama on Wednesday. When the case was taken up on Wednesday, a lawyer appearing for the defendant, said that his client had mentioned the name of former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella when he was questioned first. However, the investigators had refused to mention the former Minister’s name in the statement, the counsel said.