Navesta Pharmaceuticals opened the country’s first sterile pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Horana. The plant was formally declared open by President Maithripala Sirisena.
Dr Rajitha Senaratne, Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine was the Guest of Honour.
Navesta Pharmaceuticals is Sri Lanka’s first facility to comply with European Union Good Manufacturing Practices (EU-GMP) and Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-Operation Scheme (PIC/S) standards. This enables the company to export their products to most global markets that accept these accreditations.
The facility is also equipped with the country’s first EUGMP-compliant A and B Grade Microbiology (MB) laboratory capable of carrying out comprehensive, advanced, in-house testing methodologies. Navesta Pharmaceuticals will primarily meet the local demand of 12 products in the Penicillin category (antibiotic drugs that are a part of the Beta Lactam group of medicines) dry powder injectable that were previously imported to the country.
Sanjaya Jayaratne, Chairman of Navesta Pharmaceuticals, speaking at the opening ceremony said, “We have and will continue to generate numerous employment opportunities for Sri Lankans who specialise in pharmaceutical fields such as Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Chemistry, Pharmacy and Engineering as well as Sri Lankans who are interested in developing this new industry further.”
Over 100 direct employment opportunities were created to include local graduates from chemistry, engineering, finance and pharmaceutical studies, while over 500 indirect employment opportunities were created through local home industries and ancillary services.
All test and measuring instruments that are used within the facility are calibrated up-to-date, from local and foreign agencies, with ISO 17025 or ISO 9001 accreditations.
