Key Points
New Delhi: An Interdisciplinary Technical Review Committee (ITRC) set up under the Union Ayush Ministry had recommended Coronil as a supporting medicine in COVID-19 management and not as a cure, an affidavit filed by the central government in the Supreme Court shows.. In its affidavit, the Ayush ministry said that the committee, had, in January 2021, advised the State Licensing Authority (SLA) of Uttarakhand to issue a licence to Divya Pharmacy the outlet that manufactures medicines for Patanjali to advocate the use of Coronil for supportive care..
The ministrys affidavit came in response to the Indian Medical Associations (IMA) petition in which it has raised concerns over Patanjalis advertisements of certain drugs, which it claims are in the teeth of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 1954...
In its affidavit, the Ayush ministry said it had issued a notice to Patanjali immediately after Coronil was introduced in the market in June 2020 even before the ITRC advisory...
In addition to Ayush, another central body, the National Pharmacovigilance Centre (NPC), had reported Patanjali thrice in 2022 for misleading advertisements for 13 of its drugs, the affidavit shows.. In turn, the SLA forwarded to the ministry a response it had received from Divya Pharmacy in May 2023 over a year after the Centre advised action against Patanjali...
I say it can be, it said.. To this, the bench responded saying it had already praised Patanjali for doing good work in the field of yoga.. While going through the Ayush ministrys affidavit, the bench said that it shows the SLA is not discharging its duty, and directed the department to become a party in the case and appear before it on 10 April the next date of hearing...
