Responding to Indian Medical Association (IMA) statement that Coronil is a "falsely fabricated, unscientific product" before the country, Patanjali’s managing director, Acharya Balkrishna on Wednesday has issued a statement clarifying that Coronil has been awarded the CoPP licence as per WHO-GMP. He further stated that Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan didn't endorse any ayurvedic medicine and neither did he undermine modern medicines.
Defending Harsh Vardhan presence at the Coronil press event Balkrishna said that the presence of the health minister showed his sincere efforts to provide acceptability to other forms of the medical system. He also said that he was disappointed by the Indian Medical Association's comments on the Coronil kit. Balakrishna said that he was saddened to see that some of the current healthcare professionals are less involved in scientific research and understanding, thus they make such direct statements.
Expressing shock over the "blatant lie of WHO certification" for Patanjali’s Coronil tablet which the company claimed to be effective in treating Coronavirus and also WHO certified, the IMA has demanded an explanation from the union health minister in whose presence the medicine was launched.
The Patanjali MD said that the medicines were introduced after they were verified through in-depth in-vitro and in-vivo biological and chemical studies, along with randomised clinical trials. Rigorous norms of biological and clinical research were followed, he said, adding that the formulations are based on the ancient knowledge of Ayurveda.
Harsh Vardhan's presence at the Coronil launch event was meant to convey a message to billions of Indians that there are other forms of medicines based on scientific evidence, other than modern medicine. He attended it to create awareness amongst the people, and there’s nothing unethical about it, added Balkrishna.
On February 19, Yoga guru Swami Ramdev had released a scientific research paper on the first evidence-based medicine for COVID-19 by Patanjali', stating that the Coronil tablet has been given certification from the Ayush Ministry as a medicine supporting COVID-19 treatment as per the World Health Organization's certification scheme.
"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,” Patanjali said in a statement.
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Sooner, WHO, clarified that it has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment of COVID-19. "@WHO has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment COVID-19”: WHO South-East Asia in a tweet
Ayurveda-based Coronil tablet and kit were introduced by Patanjali on June 23 2020, when the pandemic was at its peak.