Time to have a standard licensing process for Ayush drugs

Their resistance and healing powers were to the fore during the Covid-19. It is an undisputed fact that Ayush products played a significant role in providing the much-needed immunity to the general public to fight the deadly coronavirus disease. The emerging evidence of a correlation between the low Covid-19 mortality rates and large-scale adoption of Ayush prophylactic solutions has developed into a significant health practice in the country

There can be no two opinions about the fact that demand for Ayush products are rising across the world as there is a growing global interest in Ayush-based solutions for disease resistance.

Their resistance and healing powers were to the fore during the Covid-19. It is an undisputed fact that Ayush products played a significant role in providing the much-needed immunity to the general public to fight the deadly coronavirus disease. The emerging evidence of a correlation between the low Covid-19 mortality rates and large-scale adoption of Ayush prophylactic solutions has developed into a significant health practice in the country. The protection offered by Ayush methods to the common people during the pandemic neutralised the skepticism that many people had about the efficacy of these indigenous medicines.

This indicates that there is need to maintain safety and efficacy of Ayush drugs. Indian ayurvedic drug market is estimated to be around Rs. 8,000 crore, comprising of products manufactured and marketed by thousands of small, medium scale units and a dozen large companies. With the demand for ayurveda and herbal products increasing steadily in the domestic and overseas markets, consumption of these products is expected to go up substantially in the coming years.

Maintaining the efficacy of Ayush drugs has been a matter of concern for the regulatory authorities for quite some time. It is true that a separate ministry at the Central government and exclusive departments for Ayush also have been set up in some states to bring in a regulatory structure for this sector as is the case with modern medicine. But, things are not that much rosy today as skepticism about its efficacy remains in the international community. Hence, the recommendation of a Parliamentary panel, headed by Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav is noteworthy. The Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare has recently recommended to the Union Ministry of Ayush to establish a standard licensing process for Ayush drugs based on uniform parameters across all the States in the country so that the drug formulations do not vary in different States and also conform to global norms of safety and efficacy. The Committee expressed concern that the issue of Ayush drugs failing to meet global norms on safety and efficacy has not been addressed by the government.

It was surprised that the government has not paid attention to the point highlighted by it regarding lack of national uniformity with respect to Ayush drugs when health is a State subject.

It urged the Ayush ministry to reconsider its earlier recommendation relating to creation of a specialized body for Ayush Drug Control with requisite expertise at the State-level on the lines of the vertical structure for Ayush under CDSCO and also explore the feasibility of setting up of a specialized body at the State level. The government was exhorted to devise a concrete strategy to address the issue of practice of Ayush system of medicine by quacks, which has eroded the faith of the public in the system.

The panel recommended the ministry to prepare a comprehensive and specific course of action to re-discover the system’s glorious past when the India system ruled the world healthcare delivery system.

The government should leave no stone unturned to increase the credibility of Ayush systems to meet scientific global scrutiny and scientific validation of new drugs, including pre-clinical and clinical trials to showcase its evidence-based products.

This will go a long way in establishing the Indian system of medicine as an alternative system of medicine, the world over.