The National Citizen Party (NCP) has warned it will build a broader public movement unless the government reverses what it describes as the cancellation of the expanded Essential Drug List-2026 and Drug Price Determination Method-2026. In a joint statement issued on Monday, party convener Nahid Islam and member secretary Akhtar Hossain alleged that the changes would place public health security at risk and benefit multinational and domestic pharmaceutical corporations.

The party said the earlier list contained 117 medicines, about 40 percent of which had become ineffective in treatment. It said the interim government had expanded the list to 295 medicines and imposed strict price controls, which it claimed could meet the primary healthcare needs of about 80 percent of the population. According to the statement, companies were also required to produce and supply essential medicines worth at least 25 percent of annual sales.

NCP alleged that the current government reduced the list back to 117 medicines and handed drug-price determination authority to private companies. It demanded restoration of effective price controls for 295 medicines, government gazette-based maximum retail prices for lifesaving drugs, and a scientific, people-oriented national drug policy.