Patanjali announces it has developed Ayurvedic coronavirus 'cure', faces licensing concerns from local government

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jul 1, 2020

Patanjali has tested, manufactured, and launched what it claims to be an Ayurvedic medicinal cure for Covid-19, Baba Ramdev’s personal care and lifestyle brand announced on June 23, but the Uttarakhand government has raised licensing concerns.

 
Ramdev claims that the set of Ayurvedic medicines had a 100% success rate and 'cured Covid-19 in seven days' during the recent clinical trials, he said at a press conference in Haridwar on Tuesday, the Press Trust of India reported. The business also launched the medicines on its Facebook page on Tuesday and they will be on the market and purchasable through an app on Monday.
 
The brand’s ‘Divya Corona Kit’ is a set of three Ayurvedic medicines comprising ‘Coronil’, ‘Anu Tel’, and ‘Swasari’. The set of medicines will retail for Rs 545 ($7.20) and will contain medicines for 30 days, Patanjali’s managing director Acharya Balkrishna said at the press conference. The medicine can be taken as a prevention or a cure, Ramdev said, but he stressed at the press conference that it is not an immunity booster, it is a cure. 

The medicine is manufactured by Patanjali Ayurved Ltd and Haridwar-based Divya Pharmacy following research by the Patanjali Research Institute and the National Institute of Medical Sciences in Jaipur. The medicines’ clinical trials were carried out on 280 Covid-19 positive people of which 69% recovered in three days, according to Patanjali.

Shortly following Patanjali’s announcement, the Uttarakhand government announced that Patanjali was given a license for an ‘immunity booster’ product and that Patanjali’s application did not mention that the product was to be advertised as a ‘Covid-19 cure’, ET Bureau reported. The state government has issued a notice to Patanjali about the product.
 
“The company's Coronil Tablet consists of Giloy, Tulsi and Ashwagandha,” Girish Janpangi, the nodal officer for the Ayush Ministry in Haridwar, told ET Bureau. “Each of these ingredients are known to have medicinal properties, and are commonly used in Ayurveda for treating different kinds of flu or fever..Our own department has studies about their efficacy, but they cannot be seen as a cure for Covid yet.”