New Delhi; Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said on Thursday that samples of four cough syrups manufactured by a Sonepat-based company have been sent to the Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) in Kolkata for testing, as reported by news agency PTI. Earlier, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued an alert against four of the company's drugs, which are believed to have killed 66 children in The Gambia. "The samples have been collected by a team of the DCGA and Haryana's Food and Drugs Administration Department and sent to the CDL, Kolkata for examination," Vij told PTI over the phone on Thursday.
"A team from DCGA and Food and Drug Administration Department of Haryana has collected the samples and sent them to CDL, Kolkata for testing," Vij told PTI over the phone.
Vij said the cough syrups manufactured by the pharma company were approved for export. "It is not available for sale or marketing in the country." "Whatever action has to be taken will be taken once the CDL report comes. Only after the report is in, we can arrive at any conclusion," Vij said.
Meanwhile, after WHO on Wednesday announced that cough syrups made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited had diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, which are toxic to human beings, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has taken up an urgent investigation in this regard, reported news agency ANI.
"Urgent investigation in the matter has been already taken up by CDSCO with the State Regulatory Authorities immediately after receiving communication from WHO based on the available information. While all required steps will be taken in the matter, as a robust National Regulatory Authority, WHO has been requested to share at the earliest with CDSCO the report on the establishment of causal relation to death with the medical products in question, photographs of Labels/ products etc. which is awaited," ANI reported, citing sources.
WHO issued a medical product alert for four India-made cough and cold syrups after 66 deaths of children in The Gambia.
"WHO on September 29, 2022, informed DCGI, the National Drug Regulator of India, that it is currently providing technical assistance and advice to the Gambia, where children were suspected to have died where a significant contributing factor, is suspected to be the use of medicines which may have been contaminated with Diethylene glycol or Ethylene glycol (this has been confirmed in some of the samples by further analysis conducted by WHO)," said the ANI source.
(With PTI Inputs)