New Delhi, June 24 (PTI): The Uttarakhand government is issuing a notice to yoga guru Ramdev's Patanjali for launching a drug claiming to be a cure for coronavirus when it had only applied for an immunity booster against cough and fever, an official said on Wednesday.
State Ayurved Department's licence officer Y S Rawat said the notice is being issued to the firm to explain from where it got the permission to launch a 'corona kit' as a cure from the virus.
"Patanjali Ayurveda Ltd had the licence only for manufacturing an immunity booster against cough and fever. There was nothing in their application related to the treatment of coronavirus," the officer said.
"We did receive an application from Patanjali on June 10. The application was approved after examination by a panel on June 12 but the firm had the permission to manufacture only two-three drugs as immunity booster against cough and fever, and not a drug for coronavirus," he added.
The company had recently launched an Ayurvedic medicine, named Coronil, claiming that it cures coronavirus.
The notice will be sent to the firm under Rule 170 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, which makes it mandatory for companies to advertise any product in print and electronic media only with the permission from the state licensing authority, Rawat said.
It was also not legal to claim that the product was a cure for coronavirus without prior permission of the department, the official said.
Meanwhile, Union minister Shripad Naik on Wednesday said that Patanjali Ayurved has submitted to the Ayush ministry its report on the company's medicine.
The Ayush minister said that the ministry would look into the report and then decide about giving final permission to the company over the medicine.
He was speaking to PTI a day after his ministry asked Patanjali Ayurved to provide 'at the earliest' the composition and other details of the medicine.
The ministry had also ordered the firm to stop advertising the product until the 'issue' is examined.
"Baba Ramdev has produced a new medicine. Whatever research they have done, it should come to the Ayush Ministry for authentication," he said.
"We will be able to speak about it only when we look into the claims. I was told that they (Patanjali) have submitted a report to the ministry. The ministry will look into the report and final permission will be given after going through it," Naik said.
