The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that the two cough syrups made by Noida-based firm Marion Biotech should not be used for children in Uzbekistan. This comes after Uzbekistan linked the deaths of 19 children to the firm's cough syrup.
According to the WHO, the "substandard medical products" manufactured by Marion Biotech "fail to meet quality standards or specifications and are therefore out of specification."
The alert posted on the WHO website read: "The two products are Ambranol syrup and DOK-1 Max syrup. The stated manufacturer of both products is Marion Biotech Pvt Ltd based in Uttar Pradesh, India. To date, the stated manufacturer has not provided guarantees to WHO on the safety and quality of these products."
It said that the laboratory analysis of samples of both products, undertaken by national quality control laboratories of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan, found both products contained unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and /or ethylene glycol as contaminants.
"Both of these products may have marketing authorizations in other countries in the region. They may also have been distributed, through informal markets, to other countries or regions," the WHO alert added.
Last week, Uzbekistan arrested four people after it launched a probe into the death of children who consumed cough syrup made by Marion Biotech. According to the Uzbek state security service, two of the detained were senior employees of the Scientific Center for Standardization of Medicines, who circumvented the proper testing procedures for the Doc-1 Max cough syrup.
Following this, the Uttar Pradesh government suspended the production license of Marion Biotech, reported Reuters. "We have suspended the production license of Marion Biotech company after not providing enough documents, show-cause notice was also given by the state licensing authority depending upon the documents asked during the inspection which they didn't provide," said Gautam Buddh Nagar Drug inspector Vaibhav Babbar. He added that the sample results are still pending.
The company had already announced it stopped production of the syrup after the Uzbekistan government raised the issue.
According to the Uzbek health ministry, the syrup was administered in doses higher than the standard dose for children, either by their parents, who mistook it for an anti-cold remedy, or on the advice of pharmacists.
In 2022, The Gambia had alleged that over 70 children died reportedly after consuming the contaminated cough syrups made by Haryana-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Though the company denied any wrongdoing and Indian
government inspectors found no contamination in test samples, a parliamentary committee in The Gambia has concluded that Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd was "culpable and should be held accountable for exporting the contaminated medicines that was linked to the death of at least 70 children in The Gambia in 2022."
