WHO includes Cadila Pharmaceuticals Polycap combination in Essential Medicine List for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
Ahmedabad 3rd August 2023: Cadila Pharmaceuticals, one of the oldest and largest privately held pharmaceutical companies in the country, has welcomed the inclusion of “Polypills” for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases in the Essential Medicine List 2023 by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Cadila polypill formulation (polycap) which was approved in 2009 by DGCI for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease/stroke in patients with multiple risk factors, is included in the Essential Medicine List. This latest development is a huge milestone and an achievement for Cadila Pharmaceuticals. This reaffirms that Polypills are safe, effective, and affordable medicines that cater to the priority health needs of the population, particularly for the prevention of cardiovascular (specifically atherosclerotic) diseases. The recognition underscores the clinical and economic advantages of Polypills, and bolsters Cadila Pharmaceuticals’ commitment to consistently provide innovative healthcare solutions for the domestic and global markets.
Dr. Rajiv Modi, Chairman and Managing Director of Cadila Pharmaceuticals, said, “This validation by the World Health Organization is a recognition of our efforts for improving global health. Polycap will help contain the burden of cardiovascular diseases and save millions of lives globally.”
The Polypill formulation (Polycap) is a combination of medications to modify the risk factors like hypercholesterolemia and high blood pressure in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. Extensive research is done on more than 7000 patients in TIPS 1, TIPS 2 and TIPS 3 studies proved that Polycap reduces the risk of cardiovascular problems by almost 60%. Cadila Pharmaceuticals has made these huge benefits available to the community and the importance of the same is now strongly endorsed by WHO by including Polypills into the Essential Medicine list.
A WHO release quoted Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as saying that “These treatments could have a very large public health impact globally, without jeopardising the health budgets of low- and middle-income countries.”
Updated every two years, the Essential Medicine List is a register of medications which WHO recommends to every health care system as a minimum mandatory requirement. This list is recognised as a guide for countries’ health systems to prioritise medications that are both effective and affordable. Each addition is considered essential to address key public health needs, as per WHO. The inclusion of Polypills further bolsters the list, which now stands at 502 medications for adults and 361 for children.
