6 Cough Syrup Manufacturers In Maharashtra Lose Licences Due To Violation Of Rules

During the probe on 84 cough syrup manufacturers in Maharashtra, four of them were directed to stop production while the licences of six companies were suspended.

New Delhi: The licences of six cough syrup manufacturers have been suspended in Maharashtra for violation of rules, the state government on Friday told the Legislative Assembly. Food and Drugs Administration Minister Sanjay Rathod informed the Assembly about the same while replying to a calling attention notice by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ashish Shelar and others.

According to news agency PTI, Rathod told the Assembly that the Maharashtra government had initiated an inquiry against 84 out of 108 cough syrup manufacturers in the state. Four of them were directed to stop production while the licences of six companies were suspended, he said.

As many as 17 firms were served show-cause notices for violation of rules, the minister added.

When BJP MLA Shelar mentioned the deaths of 66 children in Gambia allegedly caused by cough syrups imported from India, the state minister responded that the firm responsible for the cough syrup was based in Haryana and that it did not have any manufacturing unit in Maharashtra.

"We have, however, taken strict action against the violators of rules. We are ensuring that the World Health Organization's GMP (good manufacturing practices) certification-related rules and Certificate of Pharmaceutical Products are complied with while exporting products (from the state)," he added, as quoted by PTI.

Of the 996 allopathic drug manufacturers in the state, 514 export their products, Rathod said.

Meanwhile, presiding officer Sanjay Shirsat said that around 20 per cent of manufacturers faced raids due to suspected violations of rules. He added that it needs to be taken very seriously as it was akin to playing with people’s lives. 

A pharmaceutical firm based in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida was accused to have caused the death of 18 children in Uzbekistan last year. The Noida Police on Friday arrested three employees – Atul Rawat, Tuhin Bhattacharya, and Mool Singh of Marion Biotech Pvt Ltd for producing and selling counterfeit drugs.

Central Noida DCP Ram B Singh said: "We have arrested three out of five accused in the child deaths case related to Marion Biotech Pvt Ltd. The case pertains to the toxic cough syrup sent abroad as the inquiry was done after the incident." Among the five accused are two of Marion Biotech's directors, a chemist, and an operations head of the firm.

In 2022, more than 300 children, the majority of them below five years, in Gambia, Indonesia, and Uzbekistan, died of acute kidney injury. The fatalities were associated with contaminated medicines, news agency Reuters reported citing the World Health Organization (WHO). 

“These contaminants are toxic chemicals used as industrial solvents and antifreeze agents that can be fatal even in small amounts, and should never be found in medicines,” the WHO said in a report.