NEW RULE FOR EXPORTS OF COUGH SYRUP FROM INDIA FOLLOWS THE DEATH OF DOZENS OF CHILDREN

Tue 23 May 2023:

Following reports linking Indian-made cough syrups to the deaths of numerous children in The Gambia and Uzbekistan, India announced that testing will be required before cough syrups exported.

With effect from June 1, all cough syrups must have a certificate of analysis from a government laboratory before being exported, the government announced in a notification distributed by the health ministry on Tuesday.

The direction has come after quality concerns were raised globally for cough syrups exported by Indian firms.

India’s $41bn pharmaceutical industry is one of the biggest in the world but its reputation was shaken after the World Health Organization (WHO) found toxins in cough syrups made by three Indian companies.

INDIA TO INVESTIGATE DEATHS IN GAMBIA LINKED TO INDIAN-MADE COUGH SYRUP

Syrups made by two of these companies were linked to the deaths of 70 children in The Gambia and 19 in Uzbekistan last year.

“The export of cough syrup shall be permitted to be exported subject to export samples being tested and production of a certificate of analysis issued by any of the laboratories…, with effect from June 1, 2023,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification on Monday.

The specified central government labs include Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, regional drug testing lab (RDTL – Chandigarh), central drugs lab (CDL – Kolkata), central drug testing lab (CDTL – Chennai Hyderabad, Mumbai), RDTL (Guwahati)] and the NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) accredited drug testing labs of state governments.

INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT BANS COUGH SYRUP MATERIALS LINKED TO THE DEATH OF GAMBIA CHILDREN

India’s pharmaceutical industry

India exported cough syrups worth USD 17.6 billion in 2022-23 as against USD 17 billion in 2021-22.

The Indian pharmaceutical industry is a prominent manufacturer and exporter of medical products to the entire globe; ranging from highly developed countries to the LMIC (low and middle-income countries).

India is the largest provider of generic drugs globally, supplying over 50 per cent of global demand for various vaccines, about 40 per cent of generic demand in the US and about 25 per cent of all medicine in the UK.

Globally, India ranks third in terms of pharmaceutical production by volume and 14th by value.

The industry includes a network of 3,000 drug companies and about 10,500 manufacturing units. It facilitates the availability and supply of high-quality, affordable and accessible medicines around the world. India enjoys an important position in the global pharmaceuticals sector.

Presently over 80 per cent of the antiretroviral drugs used globally to combat AIDS are supplied by Indian pharmaceutical firms.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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