Ahmedabad-based Cadila Pharmaceuticals 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 Organisation (WHO).

The Cadila polypill formulation (polycap) was approved in 2009 by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease/stroke in patients with multiple risk factors. 

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 proving 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.

Updated every two years, the Essential Medicine List is a register of medications that WHO recommends to every healthcare 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.