International Companies have also taken steps to reduce the prices of their products compared to the price reduction in Sri Lanka, he said.

The country will receive Rs. 9 billion profits annually, as a result of the price reduction, he added.

The Minister made this statement while addressing the cabinet media briefing held in the Parliament Complex yesterday.

The Gazette notification to reduce the prices of 48 varieties of essential pharmaceutical drugs was signed on October 2016, by Minister Dr Rajitha Senaratne.

The price reduction came into effect from October 21, 2016.

Prices were reduced up to 85% while the 48 items include the drugs used for diabetes, heart disease, and other related diseases.

The gazette was initially slated to be issues on September 31, 2016.

The formula to reduce drug prices was announced during the 39th Prof. Senaka Bibile commemoration held on September 23 at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI) Auditorium.

Meanwhile steps were taken to reduce fee for drug registration, new product registration and licensing under National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) recently.

Accordingly, fees required for registration of medicinal drugs were reduced with effect from January 05 midnight.