Since the government announced the release of the most recent National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), several commonly used medications are expected to become less expensive, including:
- Diabetes medications,
- Patented antivirals used to treat HIV,
- Hepatitis C,
- Tuberculosis,
- Intrauterine devices, such as condoms,
The popular anti-diabetes drug teneligliptin, insulin glargine injection, and common antibiotics like meropenem and cefuroxime have been included in the NLEM, 2022.
The list also includes several other commonly used drugs:
- Morphine,
- Ibrufen,
- Diclofenac,
- Paracetamol,
- Tramadol,
- Cetirizine,
- Prednisolone,
- Snake venom,
- Carbamazepine,
- Albendazole,
- Ivermectin,
- Amoxicillin Amoxicillin.
For the first time, patented drugs like anti-TB bedaquiline and delamanid, anti-HIV dolutegravir, and anti-hepatitis C daclatasvir are also part of the NLEM.
Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Health Minister, released the revised NLEM in September.
As many as 34 new drugs were added and 26 were dropped from the updated list of essential medicines.
The listed medicines and devices cannot be sold above the prices fixed by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA).
The new drugs on the list also include de-addiction formulations such as buprenorphine tablets, nicotine replacement therapy, cardiovascular tablets such as dabigatran and injections such as Tenecteplase, and an indigenous rotavirus vaccine.
Drugs and vaccines covered by the C-19 emergency use authorization were left off the list because more research is needed to determine their efficacy and drug profiles, according to YK Gupta, vice chairperson of the Standing National Committee on Medicines that created the NLEM 2022.
Besides recommending the inclusion of these drugs, the NLEM also proposes the deletion of 26 drugs from the list, including the popular heartburn drug ranitidine, bleaching powder, and antiretrovirals like stavudine+lamivudine and lamivudine, as well as the vitamin supplement nicotinamide.
For the medicines included in the NLEM, manufacturers are required to sell their products at a price equal to or lower than the ceiling price.
The calculation of the price is based on a simple averaging of the market prices of different brands of medicines having a market share of at least 1%.
