The government has newly designated three items, including anticancer injections, as national essential medicines.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 3rd that it held a National Essential Medicines Stable Supply Council meeting in May and publicly designated three new national essential medicines: dacarbazine injection, doxorubicin injection (lyophilized) and cisatracurium injection. National essential medicines are drugs deemed essential for public health but difficult to supply stably through market mechanisms alone, and are designated through inter-ministerial consultation.
Among the newly designated items, dacarbazine injection is used to treat malignant melanoma and Hodgkin's disease. Doxorubicin injection is an anticancer drug used in chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma and other conditions, while cisatracurium injection is used for muscle relaxation and endotracheal intubation during anesthesia.
With the three new additions, the number of national essential medicines has increased from 488 to 491. Kim Yong-jae, vice minister of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and chair of the council, said, "We have designated anticancer injections and other drugs that urgently require stable supply in clinical settings as national essential medicines," adding, "We will work to create an environment where patients can use medicines with confidence and without supply concerns."
