No shortage of drugs, so be calm – SLCPI
Despite the global impact of the new coronavirus, there is no shortage in the availability of essential drugs in Sri Lanka, assured the Sri Lanka Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry (SLCPI), urging people to be calm.
SLCPI said: “All major pharmaceutical importers have an inventory and stock for at least three months and sometimes even more. So panic buying of medicines as a reaction to the coronavirus is unnecessary.”
SLCPI’s Chairperson Kasturi Chellaraja reiterated that “we need to be sensible and judicious in our reaction and not panic. There is currently enough stock to meet three months of normal demand and we will make sure that the supply chain is not disrupted”.
The statement was issued in the wake of several reports from pharmaceutical retailers that customers were buying as much as two to three months’ supply of drugs.
“We need to be rational about this and there’s a lot of irrationality going on out in the community, owing to scare-mongering,” Ms. Chellaraja said, adding that Sri Lanka is a small market and the excellent relationship that their chamber members have with multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers worldwide, will ensure that they will not run out of stock.
She also cautioned consumers that knowledge on storage is vital – failure to correctly store an overstock of medicines at home, can affect the efficacy of the medicine. “For example, cartons protect the product from light which can otherwise degrade the product; sometimes desiccants are used to protect the product from moisture.”
The SLCPI stated that its membership of pharmaceutical importers was monitoring its supply chains closely and is confident that there would be no interruption. Despite the fact that 60% of the active raw material for drugs is manufactured in China, Europe remains the largest manufacturer of pharmaceuticals and although most imports to Sri Lanka are from India with India, in turn, dependent on China for raw material, the risk of running out of essential medicines in Sri Lanka is slim.