The Indian Medical Association (IMA), Hyderabad, the Pulmonologists Association and the Jana Vignana Vedika have demanded the state government to order a thorough scientific and clinical trial of the fish medicine administered by the Bathina family in the city in the month of June every year.

Lakhs of people from all over the country and even abroad take the fish medicine, claimed to be a sure cure for asthma. The fish medicine is administered free on Mrugasirakarte, the Telugu calendar day – this year June 8 – signifying the end of summer and the beginning of the monsoon.

Speaking at a seminar organised by the Vedika on “ Fish medicine – scientific or unscientific,” Dr M V Ranga Reddy, president, Indian Medical Association, Hyderabad, said the government should convince the Bathina family to submit the fish medicine for scientific evaluation. If the family did not volunteer to do so, the government should withdraw all support it provided to the family. The IMA was not against alternative systems of medicine. If the fish medicine was really useful in curing asthma, then it needed to be encouraged. It was also not proper that the medicine remained the sole property of the family. Once the therapeutic values are identified then the medicine could be taken to the doorsteps of patients rather than lakhs of them converging at one place every year. The Bathina family can then claim royalty or, respecting their sentiments, the medicine could be supplied free, he added.

Dr Prakash V Diwan, Deputy Director, Pharmacology Division, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), questioned as to how the state government could promote some thing which had no scientific backing or clinical history. Besides, those preparing the medicine were untrained and unqualified persons and what they were doing was not legal, he argued. The ingredients of the medicine should be evaluated by a team comprising herbologists, chest specialists and pharmacologists, he said.

Pulmonologist Dr I Jayachandra said he had examined some of the patients who had taken the medicine and it was found that half of them were not asthmatic but had lung problems due to excessive smoking.

However, clarifying their stand, Dr V Krishna, president, state committee, Jana Vignana Vedika, said they were not against the medicine as such, since it was found to be beneficial to many. At the same time, such alternative systems must not go unchecked by the state government, he argued.

If some one suffers after consuming the medicine, there was no security or insurance guaranteed by such medicines, he said. “Who will take the responsibility if anyone becomes a victim of the medicine after consuming it,” he asked. The government, he said should order a scientific investigation and evaluation, quality control, biomarkers and clinical trials for determining the usefulness of the medicine,

Therefore, the Bathina family should come forward voluntarily, hand over the medicine to government agencies and cooperate in conducting clinical and scientific scrutiny, Dr Krishna said, adding, that once the tests were over, the state government could also help in patenting the medicine for the family.

The Vedika proposed to conduct random sample surveys on June 8 (the day on which the medicine will be administered this year), on the fish medicine and its genuineness, he said. He regretted that the Bathina brothers had been refusing any research on their medicine so far.