In October, 70 children in The Gambia die after drinking Indian cough syrup. After an investigation, the authorities of the subcontinent cleared the manufacturer of any suspicion. Possibly hasty: adulterated cough syrup from India also seems to be in circulation in Uzbekistan.
In Uzbekistan, 19 children may have died after drinking cough syrup from India. The Uzbek public prosecutor’s office has initiated proceedings for the sale of adulterated medicines, reports the Fergana news agency. Accordingly, the cough syrup contained the toxic chemical ethylene glycol, which is contained in antifreeze.
A spokeswoman for the Uzbek secret service had previously stated that several suspects were in custody. It is therefore being investigated against those responsible for the company Quramax Medical, which had imported the cough syrup from India. In addition, the Uzbek LLC “Scientific Center for the Standardization of Medicines” is in the sights of the authorities. The spokeswoman did not explain how many suspects were being investigated.
The cough syrup with the syrup Dok-1 Max was produced in a factory of the pharmaceutical company Marion Biotech near the Indian capital New Delhi. After the allegations from Uzbekistan, the Indian Ministry of Health announced that production had been stopped. The local drug agency has inspected Marion Biotech’s facility, it said. Samples of the cough syrup would be examined. “Further action will be taken if necessary based on the inspection report.”
An employee of Marion Biotech told the Indian news agency ANI that the production of the syrup had been stopped. The company website has been taken offline. An archived version shows that the company’s products are sold in India, Russia, former Soviet republics, Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America.
India is known as the pharmacy of the world and produces many medicines inexpensively, especially for poorer countries. In October, however, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned against cough syrups from India that contained “unacceptable amounts” of ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol. Affected were drugs manufactured by the Indian pharmaceutical company Maiden Pharmaceuticals and linked to the deaths of almost 70 children in The Gambia. The children had died of acute kidney failure.
The Indian authorities had launched investigations into Maiden Pharmaceuticals after the WHO warning. After the investigation, it was said that the offending drugs had met the “quality standards”.
