Govt assures availability of raw materials for ayurvedic drugs

New Delhi: The increase in demand for the ayurvedic medicines in recent years has raised the worries of drug makers about the shortage of availability of raw materials. The matter was also discussed during a roundtable discussion with Ayush Minister Shripad Naik and captains of firms involved in ayurvedic drug manufacturing during the concluding day of Arogya 2017.

Assuring all help to ayurvedic drug makers, the minister said that the government is taking several measures to ensure availability of raw materials needed to manufacture ayurvedic formulations. "The worry of ayurvedic drug manufacturers is genuine. There is a shortage of raw materials, but the government is in talks with several other countries for the import of herbal products," said a drug manufacturer quoting the words of the Ayush Minister.

"Since the government is aiming to make Ayurveda a global product; it should be the responsibility of the government to ensure availability of raw materials. We (ayurvedic drug manufacturers) want the government to set up their reserves for raw materials from where pharmaceutical companies can buy," said KK Sharma, the chairman of AIMIL Pharmaceuticals, who was attended the round-table conference.

At the meeting, the issue of quality of raw materials was also discussed. The members asserted that some raw material available in the market is of poor quality, which makes the job of a pharmaceutical firm to select best out of that a challenging task.

The industry is also struggling with the problem of herbal extinction as some herbs found in the forests are of rare variants and if farming of those herbs would not start, the herbs would disappear, Sharm said.