The ministry says the patients’ lives are in peril due to certain doctors being in cohorts with the drug mafia companies.

Switzerland’s Hoffman La Roche Ltd. and Sri Lanka’s A. Baur and Company had previously enjoyed the monopoly of importing this vaccine, which they had priced at Rs. 250,000 per vial.

After the ministry ended the monopoly and started providing the vaccine to patients free of charge, those companies went to courts and obtained an order in their favour.

The respondents cited were the National Drug Regulatory Authority, director of medical supplies and the director general of health services.

The court of appeal later repealed the order, after which the Ministry called for tenders to import the vaccine.

At the receipt of the tenders, it transpired that this very same vaccine could have been bought at Rs. 90,000 per vial.

Thereafter, trastuzumab began to be imported from Russia through suppliers, but the doctors have refused to prescribe it.

When contacted, minister Rajitha Senaratne said certain persons in the drug mafia were trying to disrupt his attempts to end the drug monopoly to control the prices.