Sri Lanka’s first insulin manufacturing plant is expected to begin production in 2027, Health and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said after visiting the facility on 17 October, the Daily Mirror reported on Monday evening.
The plant, built by Premium International Injectable (Pvt) Ltd at the Koggala Export Processing Zone in Galle, represents an investment of more than Rs. 3 billion. Production will start once construction and the necessary validation processes are complete. The company plans to make insulin first, then anaesthetics, painkillers and other products, working towards a target of 33 types of medicines. It operates as a joint venture with the State Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing Corporation, under a 15-year supply agreement with the corporation, and intends to export beyond the domestic market.
The scale of the import gap
Sri Lanka imports 85% to 90% of the medicines its hospital system requires, the minister said, with domestic manufacturing covering only 10% to 15%. Insulin specifically is sourced mostly from four companies in India. He said local production would secure continuity of supply and strengthen the state’s ability to monitor product quality.
About 96% of the hospital system’s pharmaceutical requirement is currently being met, he said, though 37 types of medicines attracted no supplier participation in procurement — a gap he did not attribute to a cause. Reducing import reliance, expanding local output and raising export earnings are the government’s stated objectives “for the coming decade.”
He also said discussions are under way to supply medicines to the Maldives through the SPMC, with requests received from other countries including Timor-Leste.
The foundation stone was laid in September 2020
This plant has been announced before, and the earlier announcement is six years old. Daily FT reported on 21 September 2020 that Raddella Holdings had “kicked off work” the previous Friday on Sri Lanka’s first biotech insulin manufacturing plant at the same Koggala zone, through the same company — Premium International Injectable, described there as a Raddella Holdings subsidiary — in the same joint venture with the SPMC.
The identification is not based on the headline alone. The 2020 report names Thushira Raddella as managing director and chief executive; the Daily Mirror lists the managing director present on 17 October as Thushira Radella, a one-letter transliteration variant. The 2020 filing also recorded plans for over 200 specialised staff, manufacturing to European standards, and products carried under the SPMC brand name.
Two differences are worth stating as published, with no explanation offered by either filing. The 2020 investment figure was Rs. 3.5 billion; Monday’s is “more than Rs. 3 billion” — nominally lower after six years. And the 2020 coverage used the language of completion at what its own text describes as a foundation-stone stage: the headline said “launches,” and the promoter’s quote called it “the opening of Sri Lanka’s first biotechnology manufacturing plant.”
Neither Monday’s filing mentions the 2020 launch. A reader seeing only this week’s reports would take a plant due to produce in 2027 as a new project.
Sourcing
Daily FT carried the ministerial statement on Monday morning under the headline “Sri Lanka to expand local pharmaceutical production,” but its page in the paper’s video section contains no article text at all — only a headline and an embedded video. Every figure above comes from the Daily Mirror’s written account. No other verified newsroom had filed on the 17 October visit at the time of writing.
Not reported
No filing states why production is now expected in 2027 rather than earlier, what the plant’s annual capacity is, or how many people it will employ on opening. The current ownership of Premium International Injectable is not stated — the 2020 report called the venture “a 100% local investment,” and this week’s coverage does not address it. Nor is it reported whether any of the 37 medicine types with no procurement bidders are among the 33 the plant intends to make.
Also present at the visit were General Manager Aseem Kamtham, Finance Manager Raveen Peiris, Human Resources Manager Nuwan Gamage and Public Relations Officer G.D.P. Gunaratne.
Sources: Daily Mirror, Daily FT.
