New Delhi: ‘Coronary Stent’ has been included in the National List of Essential Medicines, 2022. The Union Health Ministry has notified the inclusion of ‘coronary stents’ in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) 2022. The move will help make these life-saving medical devices more affordable. The move is based on the recommendations of an expert committee constituted to review the inclusion of stents in the list on the basis of need.
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) will now set the price of coronary stents. The Standing National Committee on Medicine (SNCM) on November 6 submitted its recommendation for the inclusion of coronary stents in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2022 in two categories – bare metal stents (BMS) and drug-eluting stents. Coronary stent drug is used in the treatment of heart diseases.
According to the minutes of the SNCM meeting, Vice President Dr. Y. Of. Gupta said that coronary stents were also included in NLEM-2015 earlier also through notification based on the recommendations of an expert committee. Official sources said that as far as medicines are concerned, SNCM has submitted its report on NLEM-2022 and the government has also accepted it.
“Following the recommendations of the expert committee, the Union Health Ministry has notified the inclusion of Coronary Stents in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2022,” he said. The 34 new drugs included in the list included several anti-cancer drugs, antibiotics and vaccines. Under this, the total number of such medicines became 384.
