News & market updates

India is open to cutting tariffs on more than $23 billion of U.S. imports in initial talks to head off reciprocal U.S. tariffs that New Delhi says could hit $66 billion of its exports. Officials warned pharmaceuticals and autos (around $11 billion) may face the most disruption if reciprocal tariffs apply.

Castle Street Hospital for Women in Colombo launched Sri Lanka's first-ever sperm bank to provide donor sperm for artificial insemination and IVF. The facility will operate under strict privacy protocols and require medical testing of donors.

Sri Lanka's High Commissioner met DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed on 16 March 2025 to agree to deepen bilateral corporate cooperation and explore joint investments in healthcare, hospitality/tourism, pharmaceuticals, IT, textiles and deep-sea fishing, and to pursue a Preferential Trade Agreement and business delegation exchanges.

IIHS signed an MOU with the University of Surrey to introduce internationally recognised nursing programmes and a pathway allowing Sri Lankan and regional students to complete part of their studies locally and their final year at Surrey. The partnership aims to attract international students, boost healthcare training capacity and support research and workforce development.

Nawaloka Hospitals PLC commissioned South Asia’s first AI-driven Canon Vantage Orian MRI on March 18, 2025, completing a USD 4.5 million radiology upgrade. The AI-powered scanner improves image clarity and speed, can avoid contrast injections, and is intended to raise diagnostic standards at the hospital.

Cipla has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Formosa Pharmaceuticals to commercialize USFDA‑approved clobetasol propionate ophthalmic suspension (APP13007) across 11 countries including Sri Lanka, with upfront payments, royalties and milestone-based considerations.

The EU, FAO and Sri Lanka's Ministry of Health hosted a BESPA Project panel to strengthen food safety control mechanisms in Sri Lanka. The event highlighted capacity-building, regulatory improvements and public-awareness efforts to improve food safety governance across the food value chain.

Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said Sri Lanka will speed up drug supplier registrations and reduce a backlog from 2,500 to about 450 files to boost competition and end registration corruption at the NMRA.

DelveInsight released a MASH Market Size and Share Assessment covering key Asian countries including Sri Lanka, estimating about 42 million prevalent MASH cases in the 7MM and 15 million diagnosed cases in 2023. The report highlights wide prevalence variation across Asian markets, notes only one approved MASH drug (Rezdiffra, approved March 14, 2024), and provides market-entry and competitive insights for pharma companies.

Emirates invested more than USD 2.4 million with Parsys to co-design a telemedicine station to be rolled out to 300 aircraft, offering HD video, Bluetooth vitals transmission and cloud links to ground medical support for real-time inflight care.

Sri Lanka will expand administered prices to 862 drugs, Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said and plans to apply price formulae in the near future. The government is consulting importers and local producers and says it will speed up NMRA registrations to boost competition and cut costs.

Advocata Institute CEO Dhananath Fernando urged Sri Lanka to target at least 5% annual GDP growth and pursue SOE reforms, PPPs and redirection of public spending to education and healthcare, citing excessive short‑term dollar debt and persistently low FDI as constraints.

Austin House Aesthetic Centre, launched by Shirantha Peries of the Mega Pharma group, opened to a full house and will offer facials, peels, laser hair reduction and nail services using Thermoceutical, Umecare, Depileve and Cuccio; Peries pledged 20% of March 8 income to Sisters at Law.

Aloe Blacc arrived in Colombo for a two-day visit and said he is prepared to invest in Sri Lanka, including the tourism sector. He will meet government officials, entrepreneurs in cashew, coconut, organic goods, energy drinks and Ceylon cinnamon, and engage with biotechnology and investment stakeholders.

Mount Lotus Hospital is running a Glaucoma Week awareness campaign (9–15 March) promoting SLT as an alternative to lifelong eye drops and urging regular eye checks after age 35. The ISO 9001:2015 certified hospital said its SLT service can reduce or stop daily drops and showcased benefits at a Medicare exhibition.

Sri Lanka will host the Joint 8th World Congress on Twin Pregnancy and the 20th ISTS Congress from 10–12 August 2025. Hosted by the Institute for Research and Development in Health and Social Care with the Sri Lankan Twin Registry (over 9,000 twin pairs), the congress will bring international twin researchers and showcase Sri Lanka's twin research.

A 17-member Thai business delegation met with the Ceylon Chamber in Colombo on 3 March to explore trade and investment opportunities in food, agriculture and health and will conduct field visits to identify collaboration areas.

The Royal Thai Embassy and the Ceylon Chamber held a business forum on 3 March at the Kingsbury Colombo with a 17-member Thai delegation to explore trade and investment opportunities in food, agriculture, health and tourism; field visits will follow to identify collaboration areas.

Vision Care was the Official Eyewear Partner at Colombo Fashion Week Summer ’25 (Mar 19–22), showcasing global eyewear brands such as Gucci, Mont Blanc and Michael Kors across designers and promoting the brands at its Colombo retail outlets.

Haleon Sri Lanka signed an MOU with the Sri Lanka Dental Association to be the official sponsor of World Oral Health Day 2025, running a month-long “#BeSensitiveToOralHealth” campaign and providing free dental screenings for about 50,000 people. The national event will be held at Galle Face, Colombo on March 20.

Nawaloka Hospitals PLC chairman and CEO Dr. Jayantha Dharmadasa was awarded the Lifetime Achiever in Private Healthcare at the Medicare Health Excellence Awards 2025. The accolade highlights his leadership in adopting modern technologies, including introducing CT/MRI to Sri Lanka and launching an AI-powered Radiology Centre in 2024.

Smoking’s health harms stem mainly from toxicants produced by tobacco combustion rather than nicotine; fully replacing cigarettes with e-cigarettes or nicotine-only products reduces exposure to many carcinogens and toxicants. The piece calls for harm-reduction discussion that distinguishes nicotine from tobacco.

Medicare 2025, Sri Lanka’s international healthcare exhibition, concluded at BMICH Colombo after three days with over 150 stalls and Asiri Hospital Holdings as the main sponsor. Organised by Asia Wellness Forum with Aitken Spence Conventions & Exhibitions, gold sponsors included Nawaloka Hospitals and Melsta Hospitals and the event promoted medical tourism.

Medicare 2025, Sri Lanka’s international healthcare exhibition, opened at BMICH on Feb 28 and runs to Mar 2 with over 150 stalls; organisers include Asia Wellness Forum and Aitken Spence Conventions & Exhibitions. Major local hospitals including Asiri, Nawaloka and Melsta Hospitals are participating and were recognised at the event.

Medicare 2025 opened at BMICH in Colombo with over 150 local and international exhibitors; lifetime awards were presented to Asiri Hospitals and Nawaloka Hospitals and the event is promoted as a platform to boost medical tourism and showcase healthcare innovations.

Sri Lanka-Pakistan Business Council hosted a B2B meeting with a 16-company Pakistani pharmaceutical delegation on 19 February in Colombo. Participants including the EDB, BOI and Sri Lankan corporate representatives held one-on-one talks on investment, joint ventures and collaborations in the pharmaceutical sector.

AuroraRCM signed an MoU with NSBM Green University to provide specialized training, internships and mentorship aimed at building Sri Lanka’s talent pipeline for AI-driven healthcare revenue cycle management and fintech services.

ADB and the University of Kelaniya ran the Sri Lanka Inter-University Make-A-Thon (22–24 Feb), bringing together ~150 participants and producing 13 groups of 3D-printed assistive-device prototypes costing under $1 each.