The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has initiated a probe in connection with the death of 18 children in Uzbekistan allegedly linked to a cough syrup manufactured by an Indian firm, official sources said on Thursday.
The health ministry of Uzbekistan has claimed that the 18 children had consumed cough syrup, ‘Doc-1 Max’, manufactured by Noida-based Marion Biotech.
Hasan Harris, legal representative of Marion Biotech, said For now the manufacturing has stopped,”
According to the ministry, chemical ethylene glycol was found in a batch of syrup during laboratory tests.
In a statement, Uzbekistan health ministry said the children who died had consumed the Dok-1 Max Syrup produced by Noida-based Marion Biotech. To date, 18 out of 21 children with acute respiratory disease have died as a result of taking Doc-1 Max syrup, the ministry said.
“It was found that the deceased children, before admission to hospital treatment, took this drug at home for 2-7 days 3-4 times a day, 2.5-5 ml, which exceeds the standard dose of the drug for children,” the statement noted.
Sources said the Drugs Controller General of India has sought more information regarding the incident from the Uzbek regulator.
An inspection jointly conducted by the central drugs regulatory team of north zone and state drugs regulatory team was also taken during which samples were lifted.
It added that primary laboratory studies have showed the presence of ethylene glycol—the deadly chemical which was held responsible for deaths in the Gambia—in the Dok-1 Max syrup.
Meanwhile, sources in the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) have revealed that this particular syrup is currently not being sold in the Indian market.
Earlier this year, death of 70 children in Gambia was linked to cough syrups manufactured by Haryana-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals following which the Haryana-based unit was shut for violation of manufacturing standards.
Previous reports suggest that the company has been a serial offender on quality control standards in the past as many state governments, and authorities have flagged it.
Dinesh thakur, a public health activist based in St Petersburg has published a long Tweet thread on the matter and has also raised questions over the functioning of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) in India as well as the pre-qualification process of the WHO.
