Industry Perspective

Industry Perspective

By Dr. S. Ajit

Director, International Council of Ayurvedic Medicines & Planet Ayurveda, Auckland

Dr S. Ajit (B.A.M.S PCAS) graduated as an Ayurvedic Charya from the Government of Indian Ayurvedic College Patiala Punjabi University. He has worked selflessly as a Government Ayurvedic Medical Officer. He is a leader in the field of Ayurveda and a Panchkarma specialist, clinician and has also worked as an Ayurvedic pharmacy inspector in order to uphold and promote the Ayurvedic science in its traditional state. Dr Ajit is the founding director of Spa Ayurda as well as Planet Ayurveda and is known for his passion towards Ayurveda and highly respected by his clients for his in-depth logical Ayurvedic interpretation and his ability to correlate Ayurvedic Principles with Western Medicine.

Excerpts from a discussion with Dr. Ajit. Alternative medicines are generally self-regulatory.

MAF & Customs are the main agencies, that deal with the import of the herbal / plant based medicines or products. The main concern is to see if there are any prohibited items in the ingredients. There is no other barrier to entry, as long as there is no heavy metals and banned drugs. The scope of growth in this sector is immense. In Australia, the sector is managed by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, however NZ does not have any such organization to provide guidance. [See https://www.tga.gov.au/ for details]

Challenges faced by the industry:

• A lot of Ayurvedic drugs are not deemed safe by the modern doctors / practitioners, because of the presence of some heavy metals in some of the herbal remedies. However, this is a misnomer, which the authorities may help to reduce. Micro-biological tests can be done and declared safe for consumption.

• Suggestion that Ministry of Ayush, Govt. of India should setup an agency for standardisation of Ayurvedic products and test them and declare ‘safe for consumption’.

• Western herbalist companies are also now marketing Ayurvedic herbs under then own brands.

• None of the Indian Ayurvedic companies are part of the Australia’s TGS license, therefore the opportunity is limited. However, their company Ayurda have been successful in getting 9 products licensed from Australia. However, this is a very expensive process and any government support will be appreciated.

• A lot of herbs available in India are being sourced from other countries like China. Ministry of Ayush can also support to make a standardisation and quality control mechanism, to support the sourcing of herbs from India.