The Health Ministry has introduced coronary stents to the National List of Essential Medicines for 2022

The Union Health Ministry has notified the inclusion of coronary stents on the National List of Essential Medicines, 2022, which would help make these life-saving medical equipment more cheap.
The decision is based on the recommendations of an expert group formed to assess the inclusion of stents on the list based on need.
The pricing of coronary stents will henceforth be set by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). On November 6, the Standing National Committee on Medicines (SNCM) recommended that coronary stents be included in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) in two categories: bare metal stents (BMS) and drug eluting stents (DES), which include metallic DES and bioresorbable vascular scaffold (VBS)/biodegradable stents. According to the meeting minutes, vice chairman Dr. Y K Gupta indicated that coronary stents were previously included in the NLEM, 2015 through a separate notice based on the recommendations of an expert group.
“In terms of drugs, SNCM has already given its report on NLEM, 2022, which has been accepted by the government,” an official source stated. The SNCM has discussed on the need, classification, and other pertinent elements of coronary stents. It further said that coronary artery disease (CAD) is a public health problem with a high morbidity and death rate. Percutaneous coronary interventions involving the placement of coronary stents are in high demand. As a result, committee members decided that cardiac stents should remain important medical equipment. “After considering all elements of coronary stents, the committee recommended that coronary stent be included in NLEM, 2022 since it is an important medical device that has been notified as a ‘drug’ under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940,” an official source said.
Authorities should examine diverse coronary stents separately for the purposes of NLEM under the categories of Bare Metal Stents and Drug Eluting Stents, he added.
The members suggested that the Indian Council of Medical Research and other relevant organisations consider taking the appropriate steps to gather data for assessing the post-marketing safety and performance of coronary stents used in various hospitals/institutions.
“Under the scientific committee’s recommendations, the Union health ministry has notified the inclusion of coronary stents on the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2022,” the official stated. Several anti-cancer medications, antibiotics, and vaccines were among the 34 new pharmaceuticals added to the National List of Essential Medicines on September 13, bringing the total number of products on the list to 384.