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WHO – long-acting analogues not an essential medicine

Health Action International today issued a press release commending the decision by the World Health Organization (WHO) to reject a proposal to include long-acting analogue insulin on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (EML).

A decision to include long-acting analogue insulin on the EML would have increased pressure on national governments to purchase these insulins, which are seven to nine times more expensive than human insulin, while providing limited added value to users. The result would have been fewer people being treated and more deaths.

To read the full press release, including comments from Health Action International’s Dr Margaret Ewen, co-lead of the Addressing the Challenge and Constraints of Insulin Sources and Supply (ACCISS) Study, please click here.