Tuesday, News18.com reported that India’s drug regulator has proposed testing cough syrups in government laboratories. Before they are exported after Indian-made syrups were linked to dozens of fatalities in Gambia and Uzbekistan last year.
This month, India’s health ministry received the proposal from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation(CDSCO) and is evaluating it. According to an unnamed ministry official quoted by a news website.
The official told News18.com, “The proposal is to test the finished goods in government laboratories before export.
The official stated that the syrups could be tested at various federal or state laboratories. The CDSCO also wants exporters to present a “certificate of analysis” from a certified lab for all quantities exported.
Last year, India’s $41 billion pharmaceutical industry was dealt a significant blow when cough syrups manufactured by two companies near New Delhi were linked to the fatalities of at least 70 children in Gambia and 19 children in Uzbekistan.
The World Health Organisation reported that syrups exported to Gambia by the Indian company Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd contained the car brake fluid contaminants ethylene glycol (EG) and diethylene glycol (DEG).
