Health ministry of Government of India has added several new drugs in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM). The list now extends by 18 new medicines making a new count of 376 drugs. The prices of drugs in India are controlled by Central Drug Control Standards Organization (CDCSO). Time to time CDCSO analyses the prices and drugs’ affordability in common population. Some of the very critical, life-saving drugs are then added to National List of Essential Medicines.
The prices of the drugs included in this list are capped and selling these drugs about the capped price is a punishable offence. The previous NLEM was issued in 2011, which contained 348 drugs. The new notification released last week has extended this list to total 376 drugs. The addition of these new drugs has been executed under a core-committee who looked at various aspects such as affordability, profit margins,…
