A civil society group has sought the revision of the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), to include newer critical medicines.
In a letter to the Chairperson of the Standing National Committee on Medicines Dr Rajiv Bahl – the Working Group on Access to Medicines and Treatments pointed out, that the World Health Organization (WHO) had revised its Model List of Essential Medicines twice – 2023 and 2025, twice after India’s NLEM was notified in 2022.
The WHO’s model List acts as a basis for national medicine policies and ensures that life-saving treatments are accessible to all populations, regardless of economic status, said the letter, that is also addressed to the Union Health Minister, besides the Secretaries of Health, and the Department of Pharmaceuticals, respectively.
“The WHO List of Essential Medicines, 2025 has a total of 523 medicines but the number of medicines listed in NLEM, 2022 is 384,” the letter said, pointing out that the omissions included critical medicines for the treatment of noncommunicable diseases such as cancer and diabetes.
“For instance, 17 active cancer-treating agents and 4 supportive agents for cancer treatment are also missing from the NLEM. Similarly, the (WHO) list also includes 9 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that are also missing from the NLEM, 2022 ..These mAbs have been proven critical for targeted therapies in many diseases, especially cancer.”
The letter called for a “transparent, time-bound, and conflict of interest-free process to revise the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), ensuring that it reflects the latest evidence, public health priorities, and the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines.”
Health equity
While recognizing that the NLEM should be based on the public health priorities of India, “bringing many of these critical medicines under NLEM will make sure that these essential medicines are accessible to people and will also make them more affordable thereby advancing both constitutional guarantees and India’s global commitments to health equity,” the letter said.
In fact, the prolonged delay in revising the NLEM “has denied millions of citizens free access to newly recognized essential medicines within the public health system, while also restricting affordable access in the private sector. Such a delay carries profound constitutional and human rights implications,” the letter said.
Published on July 6, 2026
