The cost of essential life-saving drugs is expected to fall as the government has slashed the prices of few more life-saving drugs. The government has revised the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), adding 39 new medicines under the price cap.

The essential medicines that have come under the cap are for the treatment of cancer, TB and diabetes. Another 16 were removed from the list of essential medicines including bleaching powder and erythromycin.

The new list was released by the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya at an event at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi. The revised list of NLEM was drafted by an expert committee under the ICMR.

The final NLEM 2021 has a total of 399 essential drugs, up from 374 that is under the price control of the government.

Most of the new drugs added to the list were anti-cancer like Azacitidine and Fludarabine antiretroviral such as Dolutegravir, Darunavir+Ritonavir, TB medications such as Bedaquiline and Delamanid, anti-allergy Montelukast, anti-diabetes drugs like Teneligliptin and Insulin Glargine, and tobacco cessation and addiction treatment drugs like nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), Buprenorphine ( opioid antagonists), Buprenorphine+Naloxone.

The 39 new drugs included Amikacin (antibiotic), Azacitidine (anti-cancer), Bedaquiline (anti-TB), Bendamustine Hydrochloride (anti-cancer), Buprenorphine ( opioid antagonists), Buprenorphine+Naloxone (opioid antagonists), Cefuroxime (antibiotic), Dabigatran (anticoagulant), Daclatasvir (antiviral), Darunavir+Ritonavir (antiretroviral), Delamanid (anti-TB), Dolutegravir (antiretroviral), Fludarabine (anti-cancer), Fludrocortisone (corticosteroid), Fulvestrant (anti-cancer), Insulin Glargine (anti-diabetes), Irinotecan HCL Trihydrate (anti-cancer), Itraconazole (antifungal), Ivermectin (anti-parasitic), Lamivudine (antiretroviral), Latanoprost (treat ocular hypertension), Lenalidomide (anti-cancer), Montelukast (anti-allergy), Mupirocin (topical antibiotic), Nicotine replacement therapy, Nitazoxanide (antibiotic), Ormeloxifene (oral contraceptive), Phenoxymethyl penicillin (antibiotic), Procaine Benzylpenicillin (antibiotic), Rotavirus vaccine, Secnidazole (anti-microbial), Teneligliptin (anti-diabetes), Tenofovir+Lamivudine+Dolutegravir (antiretroviral), Tenofovir+Alafenamide Fumarate (TAF) (antiretroviral), Terbinafine (antifungal), and Valganiclovir (antiviral).

The drugs that have been removed from the list are Alteplase (clot buster), Atenolol (anti-hypertension), Bleaching Powder, Cetrimide (antiseptic), Erythromycin (antibiotic), Ethinylestradiol+Norethisterone (birth control), Ganciclovir (antiviral), Lamivudine+Nevirapine+Stavudine (antiretroviral), Leflunomide (antirheumatic), Nicotinamide (Vitamin-B), Pegylated interferon alfa 2a, Pegylated interferon alfa 2b (antiviral), Pentamidine (antifungal), Prilocaine+Lignocaine (anaesthetic), Rifabutin (antibiotic), Stavudine+Lamivudine (antiretroviral), and Sucralfate (anti-ulcer).

The addition to the list of essential drugs also means that more drugs will come under price control. At present, with 376 drugs, 18 per cent of the local pharma market is under price control.

NLEM rates are revised every five years. NLEM 2015, which came into effect in 2016 came to an end in March 2021.