At least 100 cough syrup manufacturing companies failed quality tests, according to the Economic Times report, quoting the government data. The report also said that these syrups contain toxins which were found in the medicine and linked to over 141 children's deaths in Gambia, Cameroon and Uzbekistan.
Earlier, it was reported that Indian cough syrups consumed by Gambian children were contaminated with Diethylene Glycol [DEG] or Ethylene Glycol [EG], which led to an Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) cluster among them. After this, the Indian government directed pharma companies to meet new manufacturing standards after a string of deaths reported in overseas countries.
“The manufacturer must assume responsibility for the quality of the pharmaceutical products to ensure that they are fit for their intended use, comply with the requirements of the licence and do not place patients at risk due to inadequate safety, quality or efficacy,” the Centre had said.
Companies are allowed to market only finished products after getting approved and satisfactory results after testing syrups. It said they must also retain sufficient quantities of samples from intermediate and final products to enable repeated testing or verification of a batch.