Cough Syrup Row: Drug Controller Conducts 10-Hour Inspection At Marion Biotech Office. Key Points

The inspection was launched after the Government of India took cognisance of the Uzbek health ministry's findings on the cough syrup.

Representational Image. (File Photo)

A team of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation late on Thursday evening finished its 10-hour inspection of Marion Biotech's Noida office, news agency PTI reported. Marion Biotech is the firm accused by the Uzbekistan government of manufacturing adulterated cough syrup that allegedly caused the death of 18 children.

Uzbekistan cough syrup row: Inspection at pharma co Marion Biotech's Noida office winds up after 10 hrs; 6 more samples taken, says official

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 29, 2022

The inspection was launched after the Government of India took cognisance of the Uzbek health ministry's findings on the cough syrup.

Here's what we know so far:

• Under the cloud of the Uzbekistan health ministry's claim that the children died after drinking Dok-1 Max, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya stated additional action will be taken depending on the investigation of the pharma business.
• Marion Biotech does not sell Dok-1 Max in India, and its lone shipment has been to Uzbekistan, according to an Uttar Pradesh government official as the inspection began on Thursday morning at the firm headquarters in Noida, on the outskirts of the national capital.
• Cough syrup samples were seized from the production facility in Noida and submitted to the Regional Drugs Testing Laboratory (RDTL) in Chandigarh for testing, according to Mandaviya.
• He said that since December 27, the CDSCO has been in constant touch with Uzbekistan's national drug authority.
• "Immediately on receipt of information, joint inspection of the NOIDA facility of the manufacturer, Marion Biotech, was carried out by UP Drug Control and CDSCO team and further action as appropriate would be initiated based on the inspection report," Mandaviya said in a series of tweets.
• India is in contact with the Uzbek authorities, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), and has requested information on their inquiry into the incident. Arindam Bagchi, a spokesman for the MEA, added that anyone connected to the firm who are being sued there are receiving consular support.
• "Nevertheless, our embassy has contacted the Uzbek side and is seeking further details of their investigation," MEA spokesperson stated.
• Prior to Uzbekistan's allegations, there were rumours tying the deaths of 70 children in the Gambia earlier this year to cough syrups produced by Maiden Pharmaceuticals, a Haryana-based company. The WHO, according to India's Drugs Controller General, made an incorrect connection.
• According to sources, the DCGI has asked the Uzbek regulator for further details surrounding the most recent accusation.
• The chemical ethylene glycol was discovered in a batch of Dok-1 Max syrup during laboratory tests, according to the Uzbek ministry.
• Political repercussions also resulted from the suspected involvement of Indian pharmaceutical businesses in child fatalities overseas.

(With PTI Inputs)