By Enyichukwu Enemanna
A group of 19 Gambian parents have instituted a legal action against an Indian pharmaceutical company, Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd, as well as its local representatives over distribution of suspected contaminated cough syrup which led to the death of about 60 Gambian children.
A BBC report says the parents of the affected children are taking legal action, seeking damages in excess of US$4.7 million, alleging that the India-based company is responsible for the devastating loss of their children.
The families also accuse the country’s ministry of health and medicines control agency of complicit in carrying out due diligence before the importation, distribution, and sale of medications in the nation.
They are also calling for the immediate revocation of the importer’s license and official acknowledgement that their children died from the damage caused by the cough syrup.
The Gambia Bar Association and the Female Lawyers Association of the Gambia, are providing the parents with the support required to pursue international legal action.
Probe is underway to explore the possibility of government-led legal action against the company.
The World Health Organization (WHO) had issued an alert regarding cough syrup drugs produced by the company after the deaths of 66 children in November 2022.
WHO’s assessment, involving the collection of 23 drug samples for testing, revealed that four of the samples were contaminated with diethylene glycol/ethylene glycol — a suspected agent that may have contributed to the tragic fatalities.
“The findings remain the same with the previous reports which indicates that Promethazine Oral Suspension, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup were all contaminated,” the parliamentary committee report reads in part.
A comprehensive drug analysis report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in May 2023 shed further light on the matter, revealing that the presence of two contaminated agents caused an alarming cluster of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) cases among children.
The Gambian scandal is one of a number of incidents that are connected to Indian pharmaceutical companies.
A 2022 Reuters report shows a similar incident in Uzbekistan led to the death of 18 children who consumed Doc-1 Max Syrup – an India-made children syrup.
