Sri Lanka, Aug. 3 -- The Medical and Civil Rights Doctors' Union, has alleged that Sri Lanka's drug regulatory system has "collapsed," warning that patients' lives are being placed at serious risk due to delays in approving medicines and persistent shortages of essential drugs.

Addressing the media, Chairman and Specialist Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa questioned the nearly two-year delay in approving the Qdenga dengue vaccine, claiming that the prolonged approval process should be investigated by the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) to determine whether negligence had occurred.

He further claimed that more than 40 essential medicines, including the cancer drug Oxaliplatin and Filgrastim, used to increase white blood cell counts, ha...