NMRA’s director-general called back to Health Ministry?

Dr. Vijith Gunasekera, Director General/CEO of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) has been recalled to the Health Ministry, sources told Ada Derana.

This comes on the heels of the overseas travel ban imposed by the court.

On October 31, the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court enforced the ban on three including Gunasekera, the Director (Supplies Division) of the Ministry of Health Dr. Kapila Wickramanayake and Sugath Janaka Fernando alias ‘Aruna Deepthi’ who is the owner of the company involved in forging documents to import a batch of substandard human intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG).

The product, which was said to have been manufactured by Livealth Biopharma Pvt Ltd. India, was imported by a local medicine supplier called Isolez Biotech Pharma AG (Pvt) Ltd. However, the India-based manufacturer has denied having to do anything with this fraudulent activity and has communicated to the NMRA that it had neither manufactured, supplied nor exported these products to any party.

It was found that funds amounting to Rs. 130 million had been misappropriated through the unlawful importation of 22,500 vials of IVIG.