This WHO Technical Report Series document (No. 1064) is the official report of the 25th meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on Selection and Use of Essential Medicines, held at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, from 5 to 9 May 2025. The Committee reviews scientific evidence on efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness to update the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (EML) and the Model List of Essential Medicines for Children (EMLc), used globally to guide national medicine lists, procurement, and treatment guidelines. This report documents the 24th EML and 10th EMLc updates, evaluating 59 applications covering new medicines, new indications, new formulations, deletions, and antibiotic classification changes. It details the Committee's evidence review and reasoning for each recommendation, spanning cancer immunotherapies, diabetes and obesity drugs, haemophilia treatments, cystic fibrosis therapy, vaccines, and more, plus policy discussions on access, pricing, and paediatric formulations.
Key Insights
The 25th WHO Expert Committee meeting was held at WHO headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland, 5-9 May 2025, and considered a total of 59 applications.
The Committee recommended adding 20 new medicines to the Model List of Essential Medicines and 15 new medicines to the Model List of Essential Medicines for Children.
Total medicines on the Model List of Essential Medicines rose to 523, up from 502 in 2023, and the Model List for Children rose to 374, up from 361 in 2023.
The Committee recommended inclusion of pembrolizumab, atezolizumab, and cemiplimab as first-line monotherapy for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, plus pembrolizumab for metastatic colorectal and cervical cancers.
GLP-1 receptor agonists (semaglutide, dulaglutide, liraglutide) and the dual agonist tirzepatide were recommended for adults with type 2 diabetes plus established cardiovascular or kidney disease or obesity, but explicitly not recommended for obesity alone without diabetes or cardiovascular comorbidity.
A new Model List section for cystic fibrosis medicines was recommended, covering elexacaftor plus tezacaftor plus ivacaftor, and ivacaftor alone.
Emicizumab was recommended for haemophilia A, and plasma-derived factors VIII and IX were transferred from the complementary to the core list.
New vaccines were approved for the core lists, including Ebola, mpox, hepatitis E, respiratory syncytial virus, and malaria vaccines.
Halothane was removed from both Model Lists for environmental and anaesthetic policy reasons, and ribavirin was removed for viral haemorrhagic fevers due to weak evidence.
The Committee did not recommend methylphenidate for ADHD in children and adolescents due to insufficient long-term efficacy and safety evidence, among 24 proposed medicines or indications not recommended.
The report notes that 2027 will mark the 50th anniversary of the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, and recommends improved dissemination and application quality going forward.
