COPE investigates drug supplies and preferred favourite supplier

It was revealed in the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) that a private company named 'Savorite' was issued Waiver of Registration (WOR) certificates to import 38 types of medicines in 2022 without the evaluation of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA).

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The former Secretary to the Ministry of Health also informed the Committee that the former Minister of Health had given instructions to select this private company to import medicines in this way, parliament sources said on Friday.

This was disclosed when the COPE met in Parliament recently under the chairmanship of MP Dr Nishantha Samaraweera, to examine the Auditor General's reports for the years 2022, 2023 and 2024 and the current performance of the NMRA.

The Committee Chair informed the committee that on December 30, 2022, the NMRA had issued Waiver of Registration (WOR) certificates to a private company named 'Savorite' for the import of 38 types of medicines submitted through unsolicited proposals without the evaluation of the NMRA.