JOIN USAnti-diabetes herbal drug, ‘BGR-34’, developed at two institutes under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), may be launched in Karnataka in the next two months and in other south Indian states thereafter.
Starting October last year, the drug has been launched in several states in North India but not in South India. It was jointly developed by the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) and the Central Institute for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) and has been licensed to a private company.
“Rs 7-8 crore worth of the drug has been sold since its launch. I have received several queries about its sale in Karnataka and the southern region. The drug could be launched in Karnataka in two months,” said V Sundaresan, scientist, Plant Biology and Systematics, CSIR-CIMAP, Bengaluru. The institute was responsible in the identification and authentication of the plant species for the drug.
The drug took six years to develop and is a combination of six medicinal plants — daruharidra (berberis aristata), heart-leaved moonseed/amruthaballi (tinospora cordifolia), madhunashini/gurmari (gymnema sylvestre), malabar kino/vijayasar (pterocarpus marsupium), fenugreek/methi (trigonella foenum-graecum) and the Indian madder/manjistha (rubia cordifolia).
It is priced at Rs five per tablet and is to be used as a supplement to ongoing treatment to diabetes. Dr Vishal Rao, an oncologist who has a keen interest in ayurvedic treatment, said that using herbal drugs entailed an integrated approach. “Ayurvedic drugs are effective, no doubt. But holistic changes in lifestyle are also required. No one can take such a drug as a magic pill and hopeto be cured by it alone,” he said.
Ayurvedic arthritis drug in the offing
The Central Institute for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants is developing an ayurvedic drug to treat arthritis. Called the IVT-15, it will be named ‘Rheumartho’. “This drug will be in the form of a tablet. Clinical trials are over and it is in the licensing stage,” said V Sundaresan, scientist, Plant Biology and Systematics, CSIR–CIMAP, Bengaluru. He ruled out licensing the drug to the company which sells the anti-diabetes drug, BGR-34. “Other companies should also get a chance,” he said.