The All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) has claimed that this syrup was not being supplied in the country and the company was only exporting it.
Image Credit source: PTI
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World Health Organization Haryana-origin cough syrup manufacturing company has come under fire after the alert was issued. pharmaceutical company Maiden Pharmaceutical Ltd. The syrup manufactured by India has also increased the concern of India. However, All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) has claimed that this syrup was not being supplied in the country and the company was only exporting it. Nevertheless, some samples of this syrup have been sent for examination. Read here the big updates on the controversies related to cough syrup so far…
- In the small West African country of Gambia, more than 60 children have died of kidney failure after consuming syrup allegedly made by an Indian company. After this, The Gambia has started a door-to-door campaign to get this syrup back. The Gambia’s health department said that the syrup contained significant amounts of toxic substances, which had adverse effects on the children’s kidneys and that resulted in the death of 66 children who consumed it.
- The Gambia Department of Health investigated the medicines taken by the children after they fell ill and died. The Health Department examined 23 samples, in which four samples were found to contain toxic substances in sufficient quantity. However, the Government of India has not confirmed the claims of the Gambia Health Department and the report is awaited.
- Meanwhile, the manufacturing syrup is being investigated by the pharmaceutical company of Haryana. Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said that four cough syrups manufactured by Sonepat-based pharmaceutical company have been sent for examination. He told that these cough syrups have been sent to the Central Pharmaceutical Laboratory in Kolkata. The Drug Controller General of India started its investigation only after the alert of the World Health Organization.
- The World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom issued an alert regarding the syrup and warned that these children had consumed four medicines, due to which they fell ill. WHO said that these four medicines are cough syrups produced in India.
- However, the WHO issued a statement making it clear that the contaminated products have so far only been detected in The Gambia, so they can be distributed to other countries. WHO is investigating the toxic drug in India in collaboration with the company and the drug regulator.
- It was feared that this cough syrup was being supplied in the country as well, but the All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) Association has denied this. The Chemists and Druggists Organization clarified that the cough syrup of this company was not allowed to be supplied domestically and they were only exporting it. The association said that, nevertheless, if any guideline is issued by the Drug Controller General of India in this regard, then it will be followed.
- The WHO Medical Product Alert has been issued for four substandard products that were flagged in The Gambia in September 2022. The Gambian government later informed the WHO about this. These four products were manufactured by the Indian company Medan Pharmaceuticals Limited. These include Promethazine Oral Solution, Cofaxmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Mekoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup.
- According to official sources, the UN health agency has not yet shared product labels and other information with India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), so that it can be definitively said where it was manufactured.
- However, on the basis of the available information, CDSCO has also started investigation at its level with the officials in Haryana. If the allegations are proved true, all necessary steps will be taken against the company, the source said.
- Based on preliminary investigation, a CDSCO source said that Madden Pharmaceutical Limited, which is licensed by the State Drug Controller, has manufactured those drugs. The company also has its manufacturing licenses. This cup syrup, however, has been exported only to The Gambia and is not allowed to be supplied in the country.
- According to an official source, the World Health Organization had informed the Drug Controller General of India on September 29 that it was providing technical assistance to The Gambia in this regard. According to sources, the importing countries of the drugs check the quality of the products before approving their use.
- After the death of the children, the Gambia Health Department claims that 23 such samples were tested, out of which four were found to contain traces of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, which are harmful to health.
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