P R Krishnakumar, Arya Vaidya Pharmacy MD, dies of Covid-19 in Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: Founder and managing director of Arya Vaidya Pharmacy (AVP) and chancellor of Avinashilingam University Dr P R Krishnakumar, 68, died of due to Covid-19 on Wednesday night.
The ayurvedic physician was admitted to KMCH on August 29 with Covid-19. He also had co-morbidities like diabetes, hypertension and heart problems.
The infection finally led to sepsis, multiorgan failure and inflammation of the heart muscles.
He was known nationally and internationally for his efforts to promote research in ayurveda and to standardize ayurvedic medicines and their formulations. He managed to create awareness on the system at the World Health Organization.
After completing his education in ayurveda at Shoranur Ayurveda College, he took up various efforts to promote the system of Indian medicine and visited 50 countries for the same.
He set up the first Gurukula Ayurvedic College in the country. The centre awarded him the Padma Shri in 2009 and the Kuvempu University conferred an honorary doctorate on him in 2011.
He took over as chancellor of Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women in November 2015. He not only established an ayurvedic hospital and research institute, but also set up several centres and joint institutions in many parts of the country.
The institute is known for the research it takes up on efficacy of ayurvedic medicines for both non-communicable and communicable diseases.
The institution also has research projects running with multiple universities across the world, and many universities send their students to AVP for research and courses.