Coronil: Ayush Ministry bans publicity till Baba Ramdev’s ‘Corona-containing drug’ is investigated
The Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, has taken cognizance of the reports published in the media on the claims of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd seeking drug discovery of Kovid-19 and has clearly stated that the truth and details of the claims of the alleged scientific study The ministry has no information.
But Acharya Balakrishna, chairman of Patanjali, has described it as a ‘communication gap’, claiming that ‘his company has given all information to the Ministry of AYUSH’.
Balakrishna wrote in his tweet that “This government is giving a boost to Ayurveda and pride. All the prescribed standards of clinical trials have been met 100 percent.”
Patanjali Group on Tuesday morning launched two medicines called ‘coronil tablets’ and ‘saswari vati’, which the company claimed are ‘Ayurvedic treatment of corona virus disease’.
Swami Ramdev, the convener of Patanjali University and Research Institute, claimed that “this kit of medicines of Kovid-19 has been prepared after two levels of trial. First clinical control study was done and then clinical control trial has already happened.”
Questions of Ministry of AYUSH
A few hours after the launch of the drug, the Ministry of AYUSH asked Patanjali Ayurveda Limited to disclose the name of the drug and its components as soon as possible to claim Kovid-19.
Also, the Ministry also said that the Patanjali Institute should give detailed information about the sample size, location, hospital where the study was conducted and the approval of the Ethics Committee.
According to the statement of the Ministry, Patanjali has been informed that such advertising of drugs is prohibited.
Such advertisements are covered under the Drug and Magic Remedies (Offensive Advertising) Act, 1954.
This has also been clearly stated in the instructions issued by the Central Government regarding the corona epidemic and this also applies to the advertisement of Ayurvedic medicines.
The Ministry had issued a notification on April 21, 2020, stating how a research study would be conducted on Kovid-19 under the supervision of the Ministry of AYUSH.
The Ministry of AYUSH has clearly stated that until all these cases are investigated, advertisements about the claims related to this drug will be banned.
Along with this, the Ministry has sought a copy of the drug license from the licensing authority of the Government of Uttarakhand and details of the product’s approval.
Other important departments are also not aware
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is also not aware of this drug – responsible for testing of Kovid-19 in India and for the treatment strategy of this disease.
ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava declined to comment about these drugs developed by Patanjali in a conversation with the BBC.
He was asked ‘Is it right to call this drug named coronil effective in treating Kovid-19 patients?’ In response, Professor Bhargava said, “I would not like to comment on any such medicine. But ICMR was not involved in any efforts related to this medicine.”
A senior official of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), Government of India, told the BBC that “under normal circumstances the time taken to develop a drug, complete its clinical trials and start marketing it” looks like. Its speed can be increased under unusual circumstances, yet it takes between ten months to a year for a new drug to come into the market. ”
But Patanjali has done a ‘feat’ of preparing this drug named ‘Coronil’ in the market in a few weeks.
The CDSCO official said on the condition of anonymity that “his department had no information about the clinical trial of this drug of Patanjali”.
Who did research for Patanjali?
After launching the medicine, Acharya Balakrishna, CEO of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, claimed that his institute has conducted clinical trials with the help of a third party which found that 100 percent of Kovid-19 patients consuming coronil Relieved.’
Here is the Third Party – National Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Jaipur, which is part of NIMS, a private university and has been active in the education sector for more than a decade.
According to senior journalist Narayan Bareth, present in Jaipur, it is a self-funded institution and students enroll here to study not only medical science but also engineering, dental science, management and technical subjects.
NIMS has a large campus on the Jaipur-Delhi highway in the outskirts of Jaipur and according to the university, NIMS is recognized by the government.
At the time of drug launch, Chancellor of NIMS, BS Tomar Swami was sitting next to Ramdev. Patanjali Ayurved Limited says that the research work has been completed under the direction of Dr. BS Tomar.
Vinod Soni, media in-charge of NIMS University, told the BBC that “there is an agreement between Patanjali University and Research Institute and NIMS University for the last two years. Under this, research work is going on. The patients of Kovid-19 came up in Jaipur. Yes, some of them were admitted to NIMS at the behest of the administration. We conducted trials on about 100 patients, which lasted for about 21 days. We used to give them Ayurvedic medicines.
Most people recovered. We believe that this is the effect of our medicines. “
But most of the people living in quarantine in government hospitals are recovering from their immunity themselves! On this Vinod Soni said, “But we believe that these people are cured with Ayurvedic medicines and this is the basis of our claim.”
Those who believe in homeopathy and Unani system in India also claim that there are some medicines in their method that can reduce the effect of Kovid-19, but they are not in a position to guarantee their 100% success so far. Huh.
But the Patanjali Company’s guarantee of 100% success has created a buzz around this medicine, even when Patanjali’s medicines have not received approval from any reputable central agency.
But Acharya Balakrishna claims that “Ayurveda has the complete cure of corona virus epidemic.”
