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Healthcare and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva says that from April 2010 the import of thyroxin tablets will be done away with as he has already instructed the State Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing Corporation to produce the drug locally.
It is estimated that the Health Ministry spends Rs. 120 million to import 26 million thyroxin tablets annually.
Minister de Silva said that due to thyroxin deficiency, women developed goiters and as a result the thyroid gland had to be removed surgically. Medical experts were of the view that iodine deficiency could be the cause of swelling of the thyroid gland.
He said that when patients underwent thyroid gland removal they must be treated with thyroxin tablets immediately after the operation.
SPMC Chairman M. A. P. Hemachandra said that Minister de Silva had instructed his institution to manufacture thyroxin tablets and the feasibility study had been completed. The SPMC was in the process of getting itself registered with the Cosmetics Devices and Drug Authority, which would have to approve the manufacturing process. The SPMC would import necessary raw material.
He said that the Health Ministry had been importing the thyroxin tablets from the United Kingdom and Argentina. The imported thyroxin tablet costs Rs.6 to Rs 12 to while the locally manufactured tablets would cost only Rs 2. The SPMC would also ensure that the drug would conform to the international drug standards.
