The Uzbekistan government has raised the issue of cough syrup deaths with India and have also shared the result of the sample tests with New Delhi, which is now conducting its own investigations even as it is concerned that the pharmaceutical exports to that market will suffer a blow.
According to top-level official sources, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan has written to the Indian government asking it to thoroughly investigate the matter after they found that the cough syrups manufactured by Uttar Pradesh-based Marion Biotech were indeed contaminated.
The Indian government decided to halt all manufacturing activities of Marion Biotech after it received the letter from the Uzbek MFA and the company's export licence has also been suspended with immediate effect, the sources told ABP Live.
India has told the Uzbek authorities that it has also undertaken rigorous testing of the cough syrup in question – Dok1 Max – at the Regional Drugs Testing Laboratory in Chandigarh, and the results will be shared with them soon, the sources said.
“We want the process to be completely transparent which is why we are sharing the results of our respective investigations with each other,” said a senior official, who refused to be identified.
The official added that this incident in which 18 children died after consuming the cough syrup might impact Indian pharmaceutical exports to India that stands at about $200 million annually.
“Uzbekistan is a great friend and partner of India. Pharma exports constitute bulk of India’s shipments there. But public perception about Indian drugs has now taken a hit so we have urged the Uzbek government to consider this as an accident,” the official said.
Some Indian pharma firms also have their own manufacturing facility in Uzbekistan. They have been all asked to conduct testing of their drugs, sources said.
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India Trying To Ascertain If Marion Biotech Followed Due Diligence
New Delhi has also informed Tashkent, the sources said, that the Indian government is also ascertaining the fact whether the pharma company followed complete due diligence and tested the cough syrup before it left their manufacturing facility in Noida.
As per the norms, the cough syrups undergo a series of testing at the factory itself before it is being exported out. Thereafter, once the drugs reach their destination the Uzbek authorities also carry out a process of examination.
Hence, the Indian government has asked Uzbekistan to check if this process was duly followed.
Meanwhile, India has also asked Uzbekistan to check whether there had been cases of overdosage by the parents of the deceased children as these cough syrups were self-prescribed as they are easily available in the markets there, said another source.
According to the source quoted above, Dok1 Max cough syrups and tablets have been in the Uzbek markets for several years and thus common people there trusted these medicines.
However, all drugs sold by the Marion Biotech there have been suspended along with those medicines that are being sold by other Indian pharma companies.
On Thursday, Arindam Bagchi, Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said, "Indian pharmaceutical companies have been a reliable supplier to countries across the world. It continues to be in various forms of medicines or other pharmaceutical products and we take such incidents very seriously when they come up."