'Coronil' cannot be used for Covid19 treatment

Indian drug regulator CDSCO has clarified it did not approve the use of Coronil for the treatment of Covid-19. Coronil is manufactured by Indian yoga guru Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved.

New Delhi: Amid an ongoing controversy regarding the use of 'Coronil' as preventive and curative medicine for Covid19, the Indian drug regulator has clarified that no certificate or permission has been granted for ayurvedic drugs in treating Covid19 patients.

"This office has not issued any certificate or permission for the use of Coronil in treatment of Covid19," said the central drug standard control organisation (CDSCO) in an RTI reply.

Assistant drug controller, Sushanta Sarkar in his reply further said that as per the WHO certification scheme, which is a scheme of certification for a pharmaceutical product (COPP) by the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) for the purpose of international commerce, for registration of products in foreign countries, CDSCO has issued certification for the pharmaceutical product (COPP) to M/S Divya Pharmacy Unit (II), Haridwar for their product Divya Coronil Tablet, after examination of their application in consultation with the Ministry of Ayush.

Replying to a query from Indian Medical Association (IMA) secretary-general Jayesh Manohar Lele, assistant drug controller Sarker said that Ayurvedic drugs are regulated under the provision of Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940 and Rules, 1945.

"License for manufacture for sale of Ayurvedic drugs is granted by respective state licensing authorities appointed by respective state governments under Rule 152 of Drugs Cosmetic Rules, 1945," the drug regulator said.

Reacting to the development, IMA president Dr JA Jayalal said that since day one IMA has raised questions on the usage of certain tablets (Coronil) as a curative medicine for the Corona infection, when it was promoted as preventive, curative medicine for Covid19 by the producers of the drug.

"IMA acknowledges and respects the valuable contribution of pure Ayurvedic drugs and their role in building immunity which will help the overall well being. But using it as an only curative drug for infected people will be a dangerous one. In the pandemic we need to be extra cautious as any false hope will enhance the spread of the disease," said Dr Jayalal, adding that people shouldn't fall prey to false claims.

He said that the drug regulator has given a license for the drug (Ayurvedic) to be used as a Therapeutic drug.

Referring to the continuous spike of Covid19 cases in India, the IMA president urged all to come forward for vaccination.

"We request all our people to kindly take vaccination at the earliest, spiritually adopt the principles of Covid appropriate behaviour like physical distancing, hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene and appropriate masking to protect the people from the spread of infection, test, trace and appropriate treatments as promoted by the government," Dr Jayalal said.

Meanwhile, statistics from the Health Ministry show that six states including Maharashtra, Punjab, Kerala, Karnataka, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh account for nearly 85 per cent of the new cases reported across India.

In the past 24 hours, Maharashtra had reported 25,833 cases, Punjab 2369, Kerala 1899, Karnataka 1488, Gujarat 1279 and Chhattisgarh 1066.

Ironically, three states including Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab account for 76.48 percent of India's total active cases. Maharastra registered 61.80 per cent active cases and two other states share the rest.