Indian company ordered to stop producing cough syrups after many deaths in Gambia
Indian authorities have ordered Maiden Pharmaceuticals, one of the country’s pharmaceutical companies, to halt production of cough syrups that are suspected to be linked to many deaths in The Gambia.
Indian authorities have ordered Maiden Pharmaceuticals, one of the country’s pharmaceutical companies, to halt production of cough syrups that are suspected to be linked to many deaths in The Gambia.
The BBC reports that the health minister in Haryana state, Anil Vij, said inspections at a factory of Maiden Pharmaceuticals found several violations of good practices.
The inspections were carried out at the company following a revelation by the World Health Organization last week that the medicines in question contained unacceptable amounts of chemical substances that can cause kidney damage.
While the names of the said cough syrups have not been made public and it has not been established concretely that they were the cause of deaths in The Gambia, authorities thought it prudent to stop their production pending the outcome of ongoing investigations.
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According to the BBC, Maiden Pharmaceuticals, in reaction to the development, said it was shocked and saddened. It added that it was willing to co-operate with any investigation into the incident.
Meanwhile, officials in The Gambia are also conducting their own investigations to figure out if the deaths of 66 children indeed have anything to do with four brands of cough syrup imported from India.
