Won’t allow sale of Patanjali’s Coronil without proper certification: Maharashtra min

Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on Tuesday said that the state will not allow the sale of Coronil – the controversial drug by Patanjali Ayurveda to combat the Covid-19 infection – without proper certification from competent authorities. The statement from the minister came a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) clarified that it has not certified any traditional medicine for the treatment of Covid-19.

Patanjali launched the product on February 19 in the presence of Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari. On Monday, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) expressed shock and dismay at what it called is a “blatant lie of WHO certification” for Patanjali’s Coronil tablet.

The global health body had earlier tweeted that it had not given any certificate to Coronil. “WHO has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment COVID-19,” the global health body said on February 19.

Deshmukh, in a series of tweets on Tuesday, said that IMA has questioned the drug trials for Coronil, and WHO has refuted claims that it has certified it. He added that launching such drugs hurriedly and the endorsement by two Union ministers is “deplorable”.

“The IMA has questioned the said ‘clinical trials’ of #Coronil & WHO refuted the false claims made by #Patanjali Ayurveda for giving any certificate regarding its effectiveness for #Covid19 treatment. Launching such a drug hurriedly and being endorsed by two senior Central Union Ministers is highly deplorable. Selling of #Coronil without proper certification from competent health organizations like #WHO, #IMA and others will not be allowed in Maharashtra,” Deshmukh tweeted.

Meanwhile, Patanjali Ayurveda claimed that it has the proper certification from the relevant authorities to sell and export the product to 158 countries across the world. SK Tijarawala, spokesperson of Patanjali Ayurveda, said, “Coronil has received the Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (CoPP) from the Ayush section of Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation as per the WHO certification scheme. This empowers us to sell the product across 158 countries. The public is under the misconception that WHO has not certified it, but WHO never certifies any product. It sets a protocol for clinical control trials on modern medical parameters. Once that is cleared Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) and Ayush Ministry gives its certificate, and we have those certificates. If the minister does not have this knowledge, we can give him proper details,” said Tijarawala. He claimed that Coronil is “declared to treat, prevent and deal with the effects of long-term corona”.