By John Ikani
Authorities in India have halted production of cough syrup at a factory of Maiden Pharmaceuticals, a state minister said on Wednesday, following a WHO report that the medicine may be linked to the deaths of dozens of children in Gambia.
The health minister in Haryana state, Anil Vij, said inspections at a factory of Maiden Pharmaceuticals found several violations of good practices.
Similarly, the WHO last week said the medicines produced by the company had unacceptable amounts of chemical substances that can cause kidney damage.
According to the WHO, laboratory analysis of four Maiden products – Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup – had “unacceptable” amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, which can be toxic and lead to acute kidney injury.
The syrups had been approved for export only to Gambia, India says, although the WHO says they may have gone elsewhere through informal markets.
Maiden Pharmaceuticals last week said it was shocked and saddened by the incident and they were co-operating with an investigation.
