• Indian authorities have stopped the production of cough syrup.
• The deaths are caused in the Gambia.
• WHO suggests the drug may have contributed to the deaths.

According to a state minister, Indian authorities have stopped cough syrup production at a Maiden Pharmaceuticals business after a WHO assessment suggested the drug may have contributed to the deaths of numerous children in The Gambia.

Anil Vij, the health minister for the state of Haryana, reported on Wednesday that 12 infractions of best procedures were discovered during an inspection at a Maiden factory close to the town of Sonipat. Vij reported that the production was ordered to stop.

Laboratory analysis of four Maiden products, including Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup, and Magrip N Cold Syrup, revealed “unacceptable” levels of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, which can be toxic and cause acute kidney injury. This information was released last week by the WHO.

According to a preliminary investigation report released by the Gambian police on Tuesday, cough syrups manufactured in India and imported through a US-based company were responsible for the acute renal damage fatalities of 69 children.

One of the worst occurrences utilizing pharmaceuticals from India, which is frequently referred to as the “pharmacy of the world,” has occurred.

The Haryana pharmaceuticals controller was earlier quoted by Moneycontrol as claiming that Maiden failed to do quality testing of propylene glycol, diethylene glycol, and ethylene glycol and that some batches of propylene glycol lacked the manufacturing and expiry dates.

Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are also used as a less expensive substitute for glycerine, a solvent or thickening ingredient in many cough syrups, in some medicinal goods. They are also used for antifreeze, brake fluid, and other industrial purposes.

Naresh Kumar Goyal, an official with Maiden, declined to comment. Last Monday, he told the Reuters news agency that the business was attempting to learn from its buyer what had occurred in The Gambia.

On its website, Maiden claims that its three factories can produce 1.2 billion pills, 600 million capsules, 18 million injections, 2.2 million syrup bottles, and 300,000 ointment tubes annually.

It claimed that in addition to selling its goods domestically, it also exports them to Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

According to India, the cough syrups were solely permitted for shipment to The Gambia, despite the WHO’s assertion that they might have traveled to other countries via unofficial markets.

The four Maiden products that had been transported to The Gambia had samples submitted to a federal laboratory for testing, according to the Indian Ministry of Health, and the results will “direct the subsequent course of action” as well as “provide clarity on the inputs obtained/to be received from WHO.”

Officials from the WHO and India’s federal health ministry did not reply to calls for comment.

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