Govt asks Ramdev’s Patanjali to back up Covid medicine claim, issues gag order

The Ministry of AYUSH has also asked the Uttarakhand government to provide copies of license and approval details granted for the manufacture of Coronil. Patanjali is headquartered in Haridwar in Uttarakhand.

The Ministry of AYUSH on Wednesday asked yoga guru Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved Ltd to stop advertising and publicising claims that it has found a cure for Covid-19 till the issue is duly examined and sought details of the.medicines.

Yoga guru Ramdev addresses the media in Haridwar during the launch of 'Coronil' and 'Swasari', ayurvedic medicines that his company Patanjali claims cure coronavirus disease. (PTI)

“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,” the Ministry of AYUSH said in a press statement hours after Patanjali Ayurved launched its medicine, Coronil, claiming that it is a cure for coronavirus.

The ministry has also asked the Uttarakhand government to provide copies of license and approval details granted for the manufacture of Coronil. Patanjali is headquartered in Haridwar in Uttarakhand.

“Ministry has also requested 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 statement added.

Patanjali launched two medicines named Coronil and Swasari on Tuesday and claimed the clinical trials on affected patients have shown 100 per cent favourable results.

“The whole country and the world was waiting for medicine or vaccine for coronavirus. We are proud to announce that the first Ayurvedic, clinically controlled trial based evidence and research-based medicine has been prepared by the combined efforts of Patanjali Research Centre and NIMS,” Ramdev announced at a press conference in Hairdwar.

He claimed the first clinical controlled study on 280 patients took place in Delhi and Ahmedabad among many other cities. Ramdev said the recovery rate of patients was 100 per cent.

More than 4.4 lakh people have been affected by Covid-19 in India so far. The pandemic has claimed more than 14,000 lives till now.