Patanjali didn’t mention Covid-19 drug in license application: Uttarakhand official
The AYUSH ministry said on Tuesday that it has requested the licensing authority of Uttarakhand government to provide copies of the license and product approval details of the Ayurvedic medicines being claimed for the treatment of Covid-19.
Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, the company promoted by yoga guru Ramdev, did not mention it was developing a drug for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) while applying for a license, an official of the Uttarakhand government said, news agency ANI reported on Wednesday.
Hours after Ramdev launched the drugs, the government on Tuesday sought clarification from Patanjali over its claim of having developed a cure for Covid-19 and asked it to stop advertising the product until the claim is verified.
The Centre also asked the Uttarakhand government for details of Patanjali’s new drugs—Coronil and Swasari.
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The Uttarakhand government, which is the state licensing authority for the Haridwar-based Patanjali, approved the manufacturing and marketing for the drugs.
“As per Patanjali’s application, we issued them a license. They didn’t mention coronavirus. We only approved the license for immunity booster, cough and fever,” a licencing officer of the state’s Ayurveda department was quoted as saying by ANI.
“We will issue them a notice asking how they got permission to make the kit (for Covid-19),” the official added.
The ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) said in a statement on Tuesday that it has requested the licensing authority of Uttarakhand government to provide copies of the license and product approval details of the Ayurvedic medicines being claimed for the treatment of Covid-19.
Patanjali had claimed that the drugs have been made in association with the privately-owned National Institute of Medical Science (NIMS) in Jaipur.
It also claimed the medicines cleared a clinical trial in several cities including Delhi, Ahmedabad and Meerut and that the Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT) controlled with placebo at NIMS. However, it did not release any clinical testing data.
Earlier in the day, AYUSH minister Shripad Naik said that Patanjali’s drugs will be given a go-ahead only after the government looks into the report sent by the company.
“It’s a good thing that Baba Ramdev has given a new medicine to the country but as per rule, it has to come to AYUSH ministry first,” Naik said, according to ANI.
“They even said that they have sent a report. We’ll look into it and permission will be given after seeing the report,” Naik added.
