Cough Syrups Linked To Gambia Deaths Were Not Sold In India: Government
The Health Ministry announced on Thursday that samples of cough syrups linked by the World Health Organization to the deaths of dozens of children in the Gambia have been sent for testing. The ministry emphasised that the products were made exclusively for export and were not offered for sale in India.
According to the government, samples from the same batch of all four medications produced by Maiden Pharmaceuticals in Haryana have been sent to a lab for testing. The results will “direct subsequent course of action” and “provide clarity on the inputs obtained/to be received from WHO,” according to the ministry.
The ministry claimed it was importing nations that normally test such products before importation and asked the WHO to release its report on “establishment of causal relation to death with the medicinal products in question.”
A blow to India’s reputation as a “pharmacy of the world” that provides medicines to all continents, notably Africa, is the death of 66 youngsters in the West African nation.
Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup, and Magrip N Cold Syrup all tested positive for “inappropriate” levels of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, which can be poisonous and cause acute kidney impairment, according to the WHO on Wednesday.
Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are also utilised as less expensive substitutes in some pharmaceutical goods, as well as in antifreeze, brake fluids, and other industrial applications.
According to the Indian health ministry, Maiden, which began operations in November 1990, produced and exported the syrup only to the Gambia. On its website, Maiden claims to have two manufacturing facilities in Haryana’s Kundli and Panipat, both close to New Delhi, and to have recently opened a third.
2.2 million syrup bottles, 600 million capsules, 18 million injections, 300,000 ointment tubes, and 1.2 billion tablets can all be produced annually by Maiden.
Although Goyal said they were not currently selling in India, Maiden’s website states that it sells its products domestically and exports them to nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
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