Ministry of AYUSH tells Patanjali to stop advertising Coronil

New Delhi: Acting swiftly after Patanjali Ayurved Ltd launched an Ayurvedic drug that purportedly "cures" Coronavirus, the Ministry of AYUSH on Tuesday denied any knowledge of the drug, and asked the firm to stop advertising "the product until the issue is examined".     

In a statement here it said, the Ministry of AYUSH has taken cognisance of news report about Ayurvedic medicines developed for treatment of Covid-19 by Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, Haridwar (Uttrakhand).

The ministry has demanded that the Haridwar-based company "provide at the earliest details of the name and composition of the medicines being claimed for Covid treatment; site, hospitaL, where the research study was conducted for Covid-19; protocol, sample size, Institutional Ethics Committee clearance, CTRI registration and results data of the study and stop advertising, publicising such claims till the issue is duly examined."

According to an official release, the Ministry has also requested the State Licensing Authority of Uttrakhand Government to provide copies of license and product approval details of the Ayurvedic medicines being claimed for the treatment of Covid-19.

Patanjali founder Baba Ramdev, announcing the launch of the medicine, 'Coronil and Swasari' medicine, which he promoted as a cure for Covid-19, said it had been developed after conducting trials and research on 280 patients across the country. However, his claim is yet to be verified.

Taking cognisance of news reports, the AYUSH Ministry said Patanjali Ayurved has been informed that such advertisements of drugs including Ayurvedic medicines are regulated under the provisions of Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 and Rules thereunder and the directives issued by the Central Government in the wake of Covid outbreak.

The Ministry has issued a Gazette Notification on April 21, 2020 stating the requirements and the manner the research studies on Covid-19 with Ayush interventions or medicines should be undertaken.

Baba Ramdev has, however, maintained that clinical control study was done on 95 patients in Jaipur during which 69 per cent of the patients recovered in three days and 100 per cent of the patients tested negative in seven days.

All necessary permission had been taken from the concerned authorities or authorities to conduct the drug trials on the patients,he added.

However, there is no scientific evidence of any alternative treatment for COVID-19, even though many countries have begun work on a vaccine in right earnest.(UNI)