No, the Rs. 84,500 Bill Is Not for Papaverine – It’s for Trastuzumab, a Different Injection for Cancer

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A topic that was widely discussed in January this year was that a medicine which could have been released to the market for just Rs. 350, was charged Rs. 76,000 by previous governments.

However, the new government announced that they are working on reducing the prices of medicine including this.

Yet, there has been much attention on social media regarding an incident where the same medicine, which was available for a whopping Rs. 76,000 but which the government said could be provided for Rs. 350, was again offered at a much higher price of Rs. 84,500.

Therefore, we decided to do a fact check on this.

Social Media Posts:

“This is the price of a bottle of cancer medicine at the pharmacy near the gate of the Maharagama Apeksha Hospital… The medicine that was priced at 75,000 was reduced to 750… Now it’s 84,500… Those who are being deceived can be deceived even more if they want to.” (“මේ තියෙන්නේ මහරගම අපේක්ෂා රොහලේ ගේට්ටුව අසල ෆාමසියෙ පිළිකා මර්ධන බෙහෙත් කුප්පියක මිල…75000 ට තිබුන බෙහෙත 750 ට අඩු කලා කියල කිවුවෙ ..දැන් 84500 යි…..රැවටෙන අයට කැමතිනම් තව රැවටෙන්න පුලුවන්”)

Along with the above caption a pharmacy receipt for the drug Trastuzumab 440 mg purchased at the price of Rs. 84,500 was posted on social media.

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Similar posts were shared criticizing the new government for releasing a drug at a higher price earlier than the year, even though the government promised to offer it at a lower price.

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Many had commented that this was a smear campaign targeting the government during the time of local government elections.

Some have posted stating that the medicine in the bill which is circulating is not the medicine which was promised to give at a lower price of Rs. 350, but another medicine.

However, we took the following steps to find the accuracy of this claim.

Fact Check :

First, we focused on the drug that has been the subject of recent talks about being sold at Rs. 75,000 though it can be sold for a much lower price of Rs. 350.

Accordingly, the drug that was the subject of discussion earlier this year was a vaccine called Papaverine Hydrochloride. This is a drug used in heart surgery, not a cancer drug. Here is a detailed investigation we conducted earlier this year.

This vaccine, Papaverine Hydrochloride, has been imported for some time by the governments that were in power before the National People’s Power government, through a single supplier at a high price without calling for tenders when importing the drug.

More information about that here.

However, Deputy Minister of Health and Mass Media Hansaka Wijayamuni stated at the time that, the Ministry of Health has been able to obtain the agreement of the relevant pharmaceutical companies to obtain this vaccine for Rs. 370.

When we inquired Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama, Chairman of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority, at the time, said that this vaccine was provided only to the government at a higher price, and it is also false that the medicine Papaverine Hydrochloride was purchased by patients by selling their homes, as reported in the Lankadeepa newspaper at the time.

Accordingly, the social media posts circulating on social media platforms these days suggest that this same vaccine which was promised by the Health Ministry to give at a lower price of Rs. 370, is being sold at a much higher price of Rs. 84,500.

However, if you carefully examine the bill for the medicine purchased from the ‘Aruna Pharmacy and Grocery’ near the main gate of Apeksha Hospital, as shown in social media posts, you will see that the medicine purchased there is Trastuzumab 440 mg.

Accordingly, the drug Papaverine Hydrochloride, which has been the subject of recent discussion, and the drug Trastuzumab 440 mg mentioned in this bill are two different types of drugs.

Owner of Aruna Pharmacy and grocery

Pharmacist Tharanga Sanjeewa, owner of Aruna Pharmacy and Grocery, also commented on the exchange of a bill issued from his pharmacy for the purchase of drug called Trastuzumab 440 mg in last April. He stated that these social media posts are being shared, targeting the government and his shop, as the local government elections are approaching.

He states that the drug which was previously under talk was Papaverine, but the drug which is mentioned in the bill is a different drug which is, Trastuzumab. The owner of the pharmacy says that the price of the medicine is usually around Rs. 84,500, and that there has been no change in its price.

He further stated that legal actions will be taken against this.

Chairman of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority, Specialist Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama

We inquired from the Chairman of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority, Specialist Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama, regarding this matter. Dr. Ananda said that Papaverine and Trastuzumab are two types of drugs.

The normal price range of Trastuzumab is around Rs. 84,000 and he stated that the Medicines Regulatory Authority has not indicated that the price of Trastuzumab can be reduced as it was with Papaverine.

Similarly, when we inquired about reducing drug prices, he stated that a motion has been submitted by the Drug Regulatory Authority regarding the existing injunction and that there is a possibility of reducing drug prices after the injunction is lifted.

Trastuzumab Drug

Trastuzumab is a monoclonal antibody drug mainly used to treat HER2-positive breast cancer and gastric cancer. It works to block the HER2 protein, which is overexpressed in cancer cells and helps them grow.

You can read more about that drug here and here.

Prices of Trastuzumab 440 mg 

The prices of the drug Trastuzumab 440 mg in the general market of Sri Lanka were checked at several pharmacies and the average price of the drug is Rs. 84,000.

The estimated price of this medicine in 2024 on the Government Medical Supplies Division website is Rs. 62,410.

Accordingly, this medicine is supplied to the government at a higher price, and so the market price of the drug is also high.

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Conclusion :

Earlier this year, there was a discussion about the vaccine Papverine Hydrochloride, which could be given for a price of Rs. 370, but was sold for Rs. 75,000 by the previous governments. It is not a vaccine for cancer, but for heart surgery.

Furthermore, since the Papaverine Hydrochloride vaccine was purchased under the government procurement procedure, it is not available for purchase through pharmacies.

However, the social media posts circulating are misleading as they suggest that Papaverine drug is sold for a higher price of Rs. 84,500 while the bill states another drug named, Trastuzumab 440 mg. It is the normal price range of that drug in the market, and there has been no price reduction of that drug, under the National People’s Power government.