This has been a long-standing demand from patient-families and treatment activists across the globe, including India.
The World Health Organization’s model Essential Medicines List (EML) for adults and children has been expanded to include diabetes and anti-obesity treatments including GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 Ras) such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, cystic fibrosis medicine and new treatments for various types of cancer, among others.
This has been a long-standing demand from patient-families and treatment activists across the globe, including India. They are now calling for local governments to adopt the same approach to these critical drugs and improve access, especially in low-resource settings.
The updated EML and EMLc (for children) also includes medicines for psoriasis, haemophilia and blood-related disorders. It helps guide public sector procurement, supply of medicines, and health insurance and reimbursement schemes.
Generic competition
GLP-1 receptor agonists – semaglutide (popular globally as Ozempic and Wegogy), dulaglutide and liraglutide – and the GLP-1/glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) dual receptor agonist (tirzepatide – Mounjaro) are used as glucose-lowering therapy for adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus with established cardiovascular disease or chronic kidney disease and obesity.
Wegovy and Mounjaro, for example, were recently launched in India, and a host of Indian companies wait to make versions of semaglutide, as some patents expire on it next year.
“High prices of medicines such as semaglutide and tirzepatide are limiting access to these medicines. Prioritising those who would benefit most, encouraging generic competition to drive down prices and making these treatments available in primary care – especially in underserved areas – are key to expanding access and improving health outcomes,” the WHO said. “What we now demand is inclusion in India’s national and state essential medicines lists, assured procurement, and zero out-of-pocket costs for every person who needs it,” said Mridula Kapil Bhargava of the Diabetes Fighters Trust.
Sustainable access
On the EML inclusion of elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor (ETI) – branded Trikafta/Kaftrio – Gayle Pledger representing the Right to Breathe campaign, said, “It gives us leverage to challenge extortionate pricing, to unlock generic production, and to push governments into action. ….. we demand that governments make urgent plans to provide sustainable access to generic versions of Trikafta, and that Vertex drop their prices and stop enforcing patents wherever there is currently no or limited access to Trikafta.”
EML revisions
The WHO EML revision is in its 24 edition and EMLc, in its 10th. “The WHO Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines reviewed 59 applications, including 31 proposals for the addition of new medicines or medicine classes,” the WHO said. About 20 new medicines were added to the EML and 15 to the EMLc, along with new use indications for seven already-listed products, it added. “The updated lists now include a total of 523 essential medicines for adults and 374 for children, reflecting the most pressing public health needs,” the UN health agency said.
Published on September 6, 2025