Following the course laid down by the Supreme Court against misleading medical claims by the Baba Ramdev-promoted Patanjali Ayurved, the Delhi High Court has now directed the company to take down claims that allopathy was responsible for lakhs of deaths during the Covid pandemic. The court has also ordered the withdrawal of claims that Patanjali’s Coronil tablet was a ‘cure’ against the virus. Justice Anup Bhambani of the Delhi High Court has said Patanjali’s medical claims were in “flagrant violation” of the licence terms issued by the Ayush ministry. Perhaps taking a cue from the courts, the health ministry has now galvanised into action and started cracking down on lookalike and soundalike brands.
The practice of branding medicines with similar-sounding names is often used as a sales gimmick, but the confusion it creates can have dangerous consequences. Olvance, for instance, is a brand of anti-hypertensive drug olmesartan, which can be mixed up with Oleanz, a branded version of anti-psychotic olanzapine. Only those brands that have been approved by the regulator and uploaded on the government portal can now be marketed. The director general of health has urged the Indian patent office to tighten surveillance of pharmaceutical products.
While the crackdown against unscrupulous marketing of drugs is welcome, why does it take a tragedy to move authorities? Misleading claims by manufacturers can play with lives of consumers. Our health infrastructure is already suffering for want of financial support. To allow corrupt and suspect marketing practices is a red line that cannot be crossed.
For instance, 14 Patanjali drugs produced at Haridwar were banned in November 2022 by the Uttarakhand licensing authority. But political intervention ensured the orders were withdrawn; till date, the suspect drugs are not off the shelf. There is no shortage of legal teeth for authorities to act. The Drugs and Magic Remedies Act prohibits advertisements of ayurvedic, siddha or unani drugs without the licensing authorities’ approval. The drugs controller has the power to withdraw the production licence of a suspect drug after due process. It’s time the monitoring shifted from courts to the officers of health enforcement agencies.