WHO denies certification of Coronil as 'cure' on Twitter

The World Health Organisation (WHO) denied Patanjali Ayurveda's claims that Coronil, a medicine developed by the company against Covid-19, has procured WHO's certification. "WHO has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment of Covid-19," tweeted WHO South-East Asia. The tweet appeared after Patanjali's tweet, as part of the grand launch of Coronil, saying that the medicine has received the Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (CoPP) from the Ayush section of Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation as per the WHO certification scheme.

When the WHO's tweet denied Patanjali's claim, Patanjali's CEO Acharya Balkrishna came up with a tweet to clarify that the CoPP certificate was issued by the Drugs Control General of India (DCGI), which is India's WHO's Good Manufacturing Practises (GMP) compliant. "...WHO does not approve or disapprove any drugs. Instead, it works for building a better, healthier future for people all over the world," Balkrishna's tweet read.

On Friday last week, Patanjali launched Coronil after the AYUSH ministry approved its use as a supportive medicine. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari attended the grand launch event. The event was bannered with 'first evidence-based medicine for Covid-19' on the rear wall.

During the launch, Baba Ramdev, co-founder of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, said that the study on the impact of Coronil on the pandemic has already been published in leading journals. The medicine works not only in treatment and prevention and cure of Covid but also after-effects, he added.

Rakesh Mittal, one of the top executives of Patanjali, claimed that 'Coronil had been recognised by WHO' in one of his tweets but removed it later.

Ramdev sparked controversy last year as the debate over Coronil and its efficacy against covid-19 flared since it didn't have proper clinical trial data. Ramdev appeared with his 'cure' when the pandemic was raging high, and research was going on worldwide for a cure. The Ministry of AYUSH then directed the company to sell it as an immunity booster but not as a 'cure'.