The WHO has included three fixed dose combinations of cardiovascular medicines or polypills on its revised Model Lists of Essential Medicines (EML) 2023 for use in primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases.
Key points
- The WHO Expert Committee on Selection and Use of Essential Medicines noted the evidence from large randomised-controlled trials that the use of the polypill is associated with reduced risks of cardiovascular events.
- One of the polypills that has been included in the EML is Polycap (manufactured by Cadila in India). This four-drug combination (simvastatin + ramipril + atenolol + hydrochlorothiazide), along with acetylsalicylic acid or aspirin, is what Dr. Yusuf and his co-researchers from India had been studying since 2005.
- The polypill is an important low-cost public health intervention which can prevent over millions of cardiovascular events and deaths every year.
- It is a simple treatment that can be administered with very little monitoring to a majority of people, with backup from physicians.
- The polypill is not a new drug but a drug delivery mechanism, which improves medication adherence (because it is a single pill) and saves money by preventing hospitalisations.
