INDIA’S NATIONAL LIST OF ESSENTIAL MEDICINES 2022: A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS

Objectives: The Indian government has revised the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) of India after seven long years in 2022. The objective of this study was to compare and analyse changes in the essential medicines listed in 2015 and 2022. We have also compared the listing of antibiotics in NLEM 2022 to those in the 23^rd World Health Organization (WHO) Model list 2023. Materials and Methods: NLEM of 2015 and 2022 were accessed from the official website of Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO). Parameters assessed were number of medicines in NLEMs 2015 and 2022, therapeutic category-wise additions and deletions in 2022, Fixed dose combinations (FDCs) included in NLEM 2022, Antibiotics in NLEM 2022 as per the WHO Access, Watch and Reserve (AWaRe) classification. Results: 384 medicines have been included in NLEM 2022. Major changes were done in the anti-infective therapeutic category in which 18 out of 34 (53%) medicines were added and 9 out of 26 (34%) medicines were deleted. Only 22 FDCs are included in the current list, majority of which are anti-HIV medicines (9 FDCs). 16 out of 20, all 11 and 1 out of 9 antibiotics belonging to the Access, Watch and Reserve categories respectively of 23^rd WHO Model list are included in NLEM 2022. Conclusion: The medicines which had limited availability and not commonly used by the physicians have been deleted after considering their essentiality. The antibiotics in NLEM 2022 are not categorized as Access, Watch and Reserve as per WHO AWaRe classification.