Hours after the sensational claim by yoga guru Baba Ramdev stating that herbal medicine company Patanjali had found a cure for COVID-19, ‘Coronil and Swasari’, with a “100 per cent” recovery rate for coronavirus patients, the AYUSH Ministry has asked the company to stop advertising its claims.
“Ministry of AYUSH has taken cognizance of the news being recently flashed in the media about Ayurvedic medicines developed for treatment of COVID-19 by Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, Haridwar (Uttrakhand). Facts of the claim and details of the stated scientific study are not known to the Ministry,” the AYUSH Ministry said in a press release.
Noting that the advertisement of such drugs was regulated under the provisions of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, the Ministry directed Patanjali to furnish additional details of the drug, the research study about it, and to stop advertising its claims until the issue is duly examined.
“The concerned Ayurvedic drug manufacturing company 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. Ministry had also issued a Gazette Notification No. L.11011/8/2020/AS dated 21st April, 2020 stating the requirements and the manner the research studies on COVID-19 with Ayush interventions/medicines should be undertaken,” the release said.
“Patanjali Ayurved Ltd has been asked to provide at the earliest details of the name and composition of the medicines being claimed for COVID treatment; site(s)/hospital(s), where the research study was conducted for COVID-19; protocol, sample size, Institutional Ethics Committee clearance, CTRI registration and results data of the study (ies) and stop advertising/publicizing such claims till the issue is duly examined.”
In addition, the Uttarakhand government was also asked to provide copies of the license and approval details granted to Patanjali to manufacture the claimed COVID-19 drug.
“Ministry has also requested concerned 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,” the release said.
On Tuesday, Patanjali had claimed that its ‘Coronil’ tablets could cure COVID-19 within 14 days, with Ramdev asserting that this was not an immunity booster but a cure.
Ramdev claimed that research undertaken by a joint team of the Patanjali Research Institute (PRI) and the National Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Jaipur, had conducted research into the drug, with a clinical study and a clinical-controlled trial having been conducted. According to the yoga guru, the clinical trials found 69 per cent of patients recover within three days and 100 per cent of patients recover within seven days.
The claim swiftly went viral, with Ramdev promising that the drug kit would be sold at Rs 545 with medicines for 30 days.
