CHILD DEATHS CAUSED BY INDIAN COUGH SYRUP CONTAINED INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS: REPORT

Thu 29 June 2023:

The cough medication manufactured by the Indian pharmaceutical company Marion Biotech that killed 19 children in Uzbekistan last year contained a toxic industrial-grade ingredient, According to Reuters, which cited two sources.

Propylene glycol was purchased by the Uttar Pradesh-based company from Maya Chemtech India, a seller in Delhi who did not hold a license to sell pharmaceutical ingredients and only “dealt in industrial-grade,” according to the news agency.

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Sources familiar with the investigation claim that Marion purchased commercial-grade propylene glycol rather than the genuine pharmaceutical version.

The substance is widely used in liquid detergents, antifreeze, paints and coatings, and to enhance the effectiveness of pesticides. The pharma company allegedly did not test the component before using it in the syrups.

A source in Maya told Reuters that the company itself was not facing charges, although an investigation was ongoing. The raw materials supplier has claimed it did not sell the component to Marion for pharmaceutical products, but for cosmetics.

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An analysis conducted by Uzbekistan’s Health Ministry has confirmed that Marion’s cough syrups – Ambronol and DOK-1 Max – also contained unacceptable amounts of the toxins diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol.

In January 2023, the Central Asian nation arrested four people for their alleged involvement the 19 child deaths, including two executives at a company that imported the drug manufactured by Marion.

A similar tragedy occured in The Gambia, where 66 children died last year after being given a cough syrup made by another Indian company. On June 1 this year, India introduced mandatory tests of cough syrups meant for export in government-run laboratories.

The unethical practices have raised concerns about safety standards in India’s pharmaceutical industry, which generated revenue of $41 billion in 2021.

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New Delhi launched an inquiry into the Uzbekistan case in December 2022, and in March this year, the Uttar Pradesh Ministry of Food and Drug Safety cancelled Marion Biotech’s manufacturing license. An Indian government laboratory stated that 22 out of 33 samples of Marion Biotech’s cough syrup were found to be adulterated with ethylene glycol.

Three Marion employees were detained in March as a result of an inspector’s report to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization. Any wrongdoing. had previously been denied by Marion.

Rajeev Raghuvanshi, the Drug Controller General of India, also gave state authorities instructions to make sure that domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers did not buy propylene glycol from Marion’s supplier, Maya Chemtech.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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