17 mn. loss after SPC awarded Tender to highest bidder
The State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) has lodged a complaint with the Ministry of Health (MoH) over the purchase of 38,000 Dinoprostone 3mg vaginal tablets from a supplier who quoted a higher price.This pharmaceutical order was called under tender number DHS/P/WW/254/25.
Klintas (Pvt) Ltd., the lowest bidder, quoted a price of Rs.1,190.00 per tablet, amounting to a total of Rs.45 million.Meanwhile, Nabiqasim, a Karachi-based company in Pakistan, offered a price of Rs.1,628.54 per tablet, totaling Rs.61 million.Klintas (Pvt) Ltd., the lower bidder, has pointed out that the tender board awarded the contract to Nabiqasim, despite it being the highest bidder.Accordingly, the decision had resulted in a financial loss of Rs.17 million.
The SPC usually ensures drug quality before registering them with the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA), as part of the tender awarding process.
The approval for this particular tender was reportedly granted by the Managing Director of the SPC.The complaint has been forwarded to Deputy Health Minister – Hansaka Wijemuni, Health Secretary Dr. Anil Jasinghe, and SPC Chairman – Manuj Weerasinghe.The initial complaint was filed on February 18th, and due to a lack of investigation or response, a reminder was sent on March 06th.
