Baba Ramdev's Patanjali issues clarification for Coronil after WHO's remarks
1 min read . Updated: 21 Feb 2021, 09:02 PM IST
Premium- 'We want to clarify to avoid confusion that our WHO GMP compliant COPP certificate to Coronil is issued by DCGI, Government of India,' said Patanjali's MD Acharya Balkrishna
- Patanjali also released what it claimed was research work supporting Coronil's efficacy in Covid-19 treatment
Amid speculations about Baba Ramdev-promoted Patanjali Ayurved's Coronil certification for the treatment of Covid-19 in the country, the company managing director Acharya Balkrishna later made a clarification about the certification in order to "to avoid confusion".
"We want to clarify to avoid confusion that our WHO GMP compliant COPP certificate to Coronil is issued by DCGI, Government of India. It is clear that WHO do not approve or disapprove any drugs. WHO works for building a better, healthier future for people all over the world," Balkrishna tweeted after the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that it had "not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment of Covid-19."
WHO's South Asia division had posted the clarification on Twitter amid claims made by Baba Ramdev that its Coronil tablet has received certification from the Ayush Ministry as a medicine supporting COVID-19 treatment.
Meanwhile, Patanjali also released what it claimed was research work supporting Coronil's efficacy in Covid-19 treatment.
The Union Ayush Ministry had earlier categorised ayurvedic Coronil tablets as an 'Immuno-booster'.
Now, it has been recognised as a medicine for "supporting measure in Covid-19" treatment, Ramdev told reporters at a press conference here.
"Study on the impact of Coronil on COVID has already been published in leading journals," Ramdev said, adding "it would work not only for treatment, prevention and cure of COVID but also help in after-effects."
This is the first company in India which has received such a licence, he claimed.
The announcement regarding the Ayush certification for Coronil and release of a research paper calling it the "first evidence-based medicine for Covid-19 by Patanjali" was done at an event here attended by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari.
However, according to the WHO's treatment arms, only corticosteroids have been proven effective against severe and critical Covid-19.
Furthermore, in a solidarity trial's interim results, published in October last year, it was found that all four treatments evaluated - remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon - had little or no effect on overall mortality, initiation of ventilation and duration of hospital stay in hospitalised patients.
Based on a similar trial's result, WHO agreed to discontinue the trial’s hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir drugs.
Coronil has been developed by Patanjali Research Institute. It had started work on an ayurvedic remedy for Covid-19 in January 2020.
With agency inputs
