Keralam’s strength and reputation in the science of Ayurveda needs to be translated into a viable business model through better standardisation processes, besides bridging the gap between academia and industry, said panelists at the International Life Sciences Industries Conclave, Bio Connect 4.0, organised by Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) and Kerala Lifesciences Industries Parks (KLIP) recently in Thiruvananthapuram. 

In a panel discussion on the Prospects of Ayurveda, experts deliberated on how Keralam’s strength in Ayurveda can be leveraged to develop more plant-based medicines through programmes to enhance availability of raw materials and improving standardisation procedures.

Dr. Sanjeev Kumar (Former Senior Research Officer, DSU, Government Ayurveda College); Dr. DG Namboothiri (General Manager of Research and Development (R&D), Sreedhareeyam Ayurvedic Eye Hospital & Research Centre); Dr. Ashish GR (Principal Scientist, Vaidyaratnam); Dr. Sujith Ernaezhath (Chief Executive Officer, Incubation Centre for Ayurveda Innovation and Entrepreneurship); Dr. Yadu Mooss (Executive Director, Vaidyaratnam Group) and Dr. Rajmohan V (Associate Professor, Government Ayurveda College) participated in the panel discussion.

Dr. Vaidya Prasad (Director & Chief Physician, Sunethri Ayurvedashram & Research Centre), anchored the session.

“Keralam is the cradle of Ayurveda; our Western Ghats is home to more than 900 species of medicinal plants, however our strength in Ayurveda is not completely translated into industrial scale due lack of lack of raw materials, “ said Dr Sanjeev Kumar.

 Ayurveda should emerge as a major player in public health system and we need a systematic approach to leverage its potential by evidence-based integration, noted Dr. Rajmohan V. Now, Keralam is facing a shortage of classical ayurvedic medicine which was its strength. Besides addressing this, the global demand should be met by bridging the gap between industry and ground level ayurvedic practitioners and their knowledge in the domain, he said.

 “Though strong on the science side of ayurveda, Keralam lacks the competitive edge on the business side. We should create a Material Safety Data Sheet of ayurvedic products made in Kerala with help of labs and other institutions, which will help us export these products,” said Dr. Sujith Ernaezhath

Dr. DG Namboothiri said standardisation of Ayurvedic medicines needs to look beyond traditional parameters and focus on the physical, chemical and botanical parameters. We need to consider synthetic cultivation of raw materials to tackle the availability issue, he said.

 The challenge in standardising Ayurvedic therapies is that practitioners often follow personalised methods based on the diagnosis. This should shift to a standardising process rather than the personalised prescription model, Dr. Yadu Mooss said.

Dr. Ashish GR said that the quality control of raw materials and the process of making medicines is important in Ayurveda.