Centre stops Patanjali from advertising Covid-19 'medicine'

Shortly after the launch of its 'medicine' for Covid-19, yoga guru Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved was on Tuesday asked by the Modi government to stop advertising the claims due to lack of requisite approvals.

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In a statement, the AYUSH Ministry that governs the Indian systems of medicine, said it was unaware of the claims made by Patanjali Ayurved regarding ‘Coronil’, the anti-Covid-19 drug that was unveiled at a function in Haridwar.

“Patanjali Ayurved Ltd has been asked to provide at the earliest details of the name and composition of the medicines being claimed for Covid-19 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,” the Ministry said in a statement.

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The ministry has also requested the concerned State Licensing Authority of Uttarakhand Government to provide copies of license and product approval details of the Ayurvedic medicines being claimed for the treatment of Covid-19.

The Ministry also referred to a notification issued on April 21 that makes it mandatory for any institution conducting research under the Indian systems of medicines to inform the government about its developments, timelines and outcome.