A day after the World Health Organization warned that the medicine may be linked to the deaths of 66 children in Gambia, the Haryana government has sent samples of four cough syrups manufactured by a Sonipat-based firm to the Central Drugs Laboratory in Kolkata for examination.
Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said, “The samples have been collected by a team of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGA) and Haryana’s Food and Drugs Administration Department and sent to the CDL, Kolkata for examination.”
The WHO on Wednesday warned that four ‘contaminated’ and ‘substandard’ cough syrups allegedly produced by Sonipat-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited could be the reason for the deaths of children in the West African nation. A probe has already been initiated by DCGI, the drug regulator of India.
Vij said a senior official of Centre’s Department of Pharmaceuticals spoke with Haryana’s Additional Chief Secretary (Health). 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, can we arrive at any conclusion on whether the deaths that happened in The Gambia were because of these medicines or due to some other reason”.
When asked about the matter at a news conference in Chandigarh, State Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said the Centre was looking into this issue.