Essential medicines to get cheaper in India after the release of NLEM

With the release of the latest National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), several essential medicines are set to get cheaper in India. These include anti-diabetic drugs like insulin glargine, anti-tuberculosis drugs like delamanid, and antiparasite like ivermectin. 

The medicines listed in the NLEM are sold below a price ceiling fixed by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). Price rise for scheduled drugs is linked to the wholesale price index-based inflation. For non-scheduled drugs, companies can hike prices by up to 10 per cent every year. Scheduled drugs roughly constitute 17-18 per cent of the estimated Rs 1.6-trillion domestic pharma market.