Patient groups cheer as the WHO adds diabetes and cystic fibrosis drugs to its essential medicines list

For the first time, the World Health Organization has added various high-cost treatments for diabetes and cystic fibrosis to its list of essential medicines, a move that patient advocates hope will usher in a new era of more accessible drugs to countless people in low- and middle-income countries.

First published in 1977, the list is used by governments as a guide to improving supply chains and controlling costs. In years past, adding a drug has helped boost access for people in poorer countries, such as for HIV treatments in the early 2000s. The list has been adopted in more than 150 countries and now includes a total of 523 essential medicines for adults and 374 for children.

The latest version added Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic to treat type 2 diabetes in conjunct