HOW ANCIENT REMEDIES COULD REWRITE NATION'S FUTURE

Sri Lanka at present is a nation struggling under the weight of debt.

- By Sugath Kulathunga Arachchi

Yet beneath this economic crisis lies a hidden fortuneone rooted not in gold or oil, but in its ancient medical traditions. According to Prof. Pathirage Kamal Perera, Dean of the Faculty of Indigenous Medicine at the University of Colombo, the country's herbal knowledge, validated through modern science, could unlock a trillion-dollar industry.

This is not a romantic dream. It is a proven scientific pathway called "Reverse Pharmacology", already transforming traditional remedies into global pharmaceuticals in India, China, and beyond. The question is whether Sri Lanka will act in time to claim its share of the future.

Scientist behind the vision

Prof. Perera is a pioneering figure. Trained in Japan and Sweden, and later earning a postgraduate qualification from Nanjing University in China, he is one of the first Sri Lankans to specialise in Reverse Pharmacology. His career bridges tradition and modernity.

"Reverse Pharmacology begins where communities have already tested remedies for centuries," he explains adding "We then validate them scientifically, ensuring safety, efficacy, and affordability."

Conventional drug discovery is notoriously slow and expensive, often taking 10-15 years and billions of dollars. Reverse Pharmacology flips the process: instead of starting in the lab and moving to clinical trials, it begins with remedies already trusted by generations, then confirms their properties through laboratory synthesis.