After the Allopathic stream of drugs, it is now Ayurveda’s turn to go through a rigorous testing process. Although the companies involved in the traditional medicine business agree that their products need to be tested, they are uncomfortable about following the same process that has been defined for Allopathy. In June, the government introduced an official guideline that was based on an earlier document of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization, (the country’s drug regulatory body) on good clinical practices for clinical trials of Allopathic drugs. The June guideline, according to a notification by the ministry of health, should be followed for all Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani drugs at all stages of drug development, whether prior or subsequent to the product’s registration.
This would mean that any company seeking permission to market an alternative or traditional medicine should support the claims made by the drug with data generated by tests on human subjects according to norms laid out by the government. These tests typically seek to discover or verify the clinical, pharmacological and adverse effects (if any) of the drug.
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