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After the Ministry of Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) put a ban on the advertising of Coronil, the Ayurvedic medicine developed by Patanjali Ayurved Limited to cure COVID-19, an FIR has now been registered against its promoter and yoga guru Ramdev, the company's managing director Balkrishna and others over allegations of cheating.
Jaipur's National Institute of Medical Sciences and Research's (NIMS) Balvir Singh Tomar and Anurag Singh Tomar, who are the chairman and director of the institution, have also been named in the FIR which was registered in the city on 27 June.
A Jaipur-based lawyer, who was part of the group of people who have filed the FIR, have questioned the legitimacy of the clinical trials purportedly conducted at the NIMS hospital.
Earlier last week, on 23 June, Patanjali Ayurved launched Coronil as a cure for the pandemic-causing respiratory infection that has infected over 10 million people in the world, with more than half a million infections in India alone. The company claimed it is an Ayurvedic cure for the new coronavirus infection that has had 100% positive results during clinical trials conducted on the 280 patients within 3-14 days of infection.
Patanjali's Coronil kit included three medicines—Coronil, Swasari, and Anu Tel—and is said to be made out of the extracts of Tulsi, Giloy and Ashwagandha, and would contain medicines for 30 days at a price of Rs. 545.
However, the studies or clinical trials Patanjali had referred to were not made public, resulting in the Ministry of Ayush telling the company to stop advertising the product until their claims were verified and approved by the ministry.
Further information about the studies suggested that the medicines had been tried on a limited group excluding those with comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes or chronic lung diseases. Asymptomatic patients or those with mild symptoms have already shown a recovery rate between 95% and 97%.
Various forms of alternative medicines being practised in India have claimed to have developed treatments for COVID-19, with even Siddha, another traditional form of natural medicine practised primarily in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, having made similar announcements in the past.
Meanwhile, experimental drugs such as Fabi Flu, which is a rebadged version of favipiravir, and versions of remdesivir known as Covifor and Cipremi were launched in the Indian market, which are reported to be beneficial in the treatment of symptoms of COVID-19, but have not been touted as definitive cures for the illness.
