Of nearly 17,500 varieties of medicines sold under different brand names by private pharmacies, only about 700 are subject to price control, a medical professionals’ association has revealed.
Federation of Medical and Civil Rights Professionals President Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, has said patients, who dependent on long-term medication, are facing severe hardship as drug prices continue to rise.
He said that although the Health Ministry had recently gazetted price control for around 60 categories of drugs, only about 700 brands actually were regulated. Meanwhile, some 17,000 other branded drugs remained outside price control and sold across both state and private pharmacies, he added.
Dr. Sanjeewa said that had led to a sharp rise in the monthly expenditure of patients on essential medication.Although a pricing formula had been introduced to regulate drug prices, confusion over its implementation had made it impossible to formulate a policy.
by Sujeewa Thathsara 
