"The list, consisting of 523 medicines for adults and 374 for children, is a catalogue of the drugs the WHO believes should be available in all functioning health systems. The new editions of essential medicines lists mark a significant step toward expanding access to new medicines with proven clinical benefits and with high potential for global public health impact, said Yukiko Nakatani, WHO's assistant director-general for Health Systems, Access and Data."
"The expert committee added the active ingredients in Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro to the list, to treat type 2 diabetes in conjunction with established cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease or obesity. The medicines were initially developed for diabetes, and have become wildly popular as weight-loss drugs, too, under different brand names. But the WHO stopped short of adding them to treat obesity alone, as it also did in 2023."
WHO added a new set of drugs for obesity and diabetes, including active ingredients in Ozempic and Mounjaro, to its essential medicines list alongside treatments for cancer and cystic fibrosis. The list includes 523 medicines for adults and 374 for children and is intended for all functioning health systems. The committee recommended the GLP-1 drugs for treating type 2 diabetes in patients with established cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease or obesity, but did not endorse them for obesity alone. WHO urged production of affordable generic GLP-1 medicines to improve access in developing countries, noting high prices limit availability. The lists are used in over 150 countries to guide procurement and supply.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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