Cough syrups that allegedly killed 66 kids in Gambia found to be of standard quality: Govt

The government on Thursday informed the Parliament that the control samples of four cough syrups that allegedly led to the death of 66 children in The Gambia were found to be of standard quality. Bhagwant Khuba, Union Minister of State for Chemical and Fertiliser, in a written reply in Rajya Sabha said on December 15 that as per the report of the government analyst, the samples have been declared to be of standard quality.

The said samples were also found negative for both diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG), the minister said.

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This comes after the WHO had on September 29 informed the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) that they were providing technical assistance and advice to The Gambia, where children have died and where a contributing factor was suspected to be the use of four medicines.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "The four medicines are cough and cold syrups produced by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd in India. WHO is conducting further investigation with the company and regulatory authorities in India," he said, adding that the loss of young lives due to the products is "beyond heart-breaking for their families."

After the report from WHO, the government formed a four-member panel of experts to examine the details and adverse event reports received from the WHO on the deaths of 66 children in The Gambia being linked potentially to the four made-in-India cough syrups.

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The cough syrups were manufactured and exported by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Sonepat, Haryana, and the WHO had informed they may have been contaminated with diethylene glycol or ethylene glycol. The four products are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup.

The manufacturer of these products is Maiden Pharmaceuticals, Haryana, India, and to date, the stated manufacturer has not provided guarantees to WHO on the safety and quality of these products. The CDSCO took up the matter immediately with the Haryana State Regulatory Authority, under whose jurisdiction the drug manufacturing unit is located, and a detailed investigation was launched by CDSCO in collaboration with the State Drugs Controller, Haryana.

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