Coronary Stent: Coronary stent is included in the list of essential drugs, and the price is expected to reduce

Taking an important decision, the Union Health Ministry has included Coronary Stents in the list of essential medicines. The move will help in making life-saving medical equipment more affordable.

The Health Ministry has taken this decision on the recommendations of the expert committee constituted to review the inclusion in the National List, 2022. Now after this decision, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) will fix the price of coronary stents.

Several anti-cancer drugs, antibiotics, and vaccines are among the 34 new drugs in the National List of Essential Medicines released on September 13. Under this, the total number of medicines has gone up to 384.

what is stent

Coronary stents are now used in almost all angioplasty procedures. A stent is a small, expandable metal mesh coil. It is placed in the newly opened area of ​​the artery to help prevent the artery from narrowing or closing again.

SNCM had recommended on 6 November

In fact, on November 6, the Standing National Committee on Medicines (SNCM) approved its proposal to include Coronary Stents in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), two categories of Bare Metal Stents (BMS) and Drug Eluting Stents (DES) in 2022. The recommendation was presented. The SNCM deliberated upon the imperative, classification, and other relevant aspects of coronary stents.

The committee was of the view that coronary stent is an essential medical device to be notified as a 'drug' under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, of 1940. SNCM Vice Chairman Dr. YK Gupta said that coronary stents were earlier included in NLEM, 2015 through a separate notification based on the recommendations of an expert committee. The SNCM had already submitted its report regarding the medicines. The government has now adopted it.

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