A class action case for parents whose children were killed or injured by adulterated cough syrup was allowed in Indonesia.
Nur Asiah, whose four-year-old daughter perished last year, said, “My child’s struggle was not in vain.”
Her family and twenty-four others sued Indonesia and eight pharmaceutical firms.
Since 2022, more than 200 Indonesian infants have died from acute kidney injury.
Not only Indonesia is affected by contaminated cough medication. In The Gambia and Uzbekistan, roughly 100 fatalities have been reported.
Indonesian authorities are investigating, but there is no proof linking the cases to those in other countries. Six cough syrups manufactured in India and Indonesia have been issued warnings by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Her cough medication was prescribed to her daughter Nasya last year after she developed a fever. After taking the medication, she became extremely ill and perished three weeks later in the hospital.
The lawsuit demands compensation of approximately $130,000 per child injured and $195,000 per child killed. Their counsel confirmed that additional parents will be permitted to join the lawsuit.
No quantity of compensation can rectify what has occurred. It will not bring back my child, sobbed Nur Asiah.
“It is inappropriate to place sole responsibility on the pharmaceutical industry,” said the attorney for PT Afi Farma, whose cough syrup was used by the majority of children in this instance, adding that the government should also bear responsibility.
Another company, PT Universal Pharmaceutical Industries, stated it had been using the same FDA-certified system for its cough medication brand for approximately 30 years and had purchased the ingredients from an FDA-approved supplier.
“In all honesty, pharmaceutical companies are also victims – victims of a crime committed by raw material suppliers,” the company’s attorney stated.
A Health Ministry spokesperson stated that a compensation plan was being developed.
We have done our best by rapidly identifying the causes, exchanging information with other nations and the WHO, and providing antidotes to treat toxic substances.
Amid a global paucity of pharmaceutical-grade solvents, Indonesian authorities discovered that local chemical firms used industrial-grade solvents (Ethylene Glycol and Diethylene Glycol) in the syrup. Antifreeze solutions for air conditioners and refrigerators frequently contain both substances.
