Cough syrup-linked deaths: Gujarat govt orders suspension of production at 2 pharma firms

Gandhinagar, Oct 7 (PIT) The Gujarat government has ordered two pharmaceutical firms to suspend their production with immediate effect after their cough syrups and other medicines were found "Not of Standard Quality (NSQ)" by health and regulatory authorities, a minister said on Tuesday.

The move comes in the backdrop of death of 14 children from Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district due to suspected renal failure linked to the consumption of a "toxic" cough syrup, Coldrif.

Following an investigation, the Gujarat government has asked Surendranagar-based Shape Pharma Pvt Ltd and Ahmedabad's Rednex Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd to stop their operations with immediate effect, said Health Minister and state government spokesperson Rushikesh Patel in Gandhinagar.

The development came days after the state government ordered a probe to determine whether the syrups being sold in Gujarat contain any harmful ingredients amid reports of death of children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan allegedly linked to contaminated cough syrups.

"Recently some cough syrups meant for children and sold over the counter in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, have been declared 'NSQ' by authorities in those states. Some of these NSQ syrups were produced in Gujarat by two firms -- Shape Pharma and Rednex Pharmaceuticals," Patel told reporters.

Following the revelation, a joint team of state Food and Drugs Control Administration (FDCA) and the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization conducted an intensive inspection at the manufacturing facilities of both these companies from October 3 and 5, informed the minister.

Based on various deficiencies found during the joint investigation, officials have ordered both the firms to stop manufacturing all kinds of medicines with immediate effect, Patel said.

However, no quantity of NSQ medicine was found in the premises of the two firms during the joint inspection, he maintained.

"We have also ordered both the firms to immediately recall the NSQ syrups from the market. We have asked chemists across the state not to sell these products and return them. Fourteen samples of other cough syrups produced by these two firms were collected and sent to a government laboratory for examination," said Patel.

There are a total of 624 licenced oral liquid medicine manufacturing companies in Gujarat, which supply their products through authorized distributors within as well as outside the state, noted the minister.

In the interest of public health, the Gujarat FDCA has issued strict instructions to all assistant commissioners to ensure the quality, safety and efficacy of medicines manufactured and distributed in the state, affirmed the government spokesperson.

"The assistant commissioners have been instructed to conduct a strict inspection of all oral liquid or cough syrup manufacturing companies in their area. During this inspection, water quality, source of raw materials, production process, quality control system and other important issues will be thoroughly examined," he emphasised.

Officials have been instructed to take at least five samples of different brands of oral liquid or cough syrup and get them tested expeditiously at the Vadodara-based government laboratory, Patel added. PTI PJT PD RSY