According to the World Health Organization, a contaminated batch of cough syrup manufactured in India has been discovered in the Marshall Islands and Micronesia.
The World Health Organization has reported that samples of Guaifenesin TG syrup, produced by QP Pharmachem Ltd in Punjab, India, were tested and found to contain "unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol", both of which are toxic to humans and potentially lethal if ingested. The statement by WHO did not indicate if anyone had been affected. This recent warning follows previous incidents where cough syrups produced in India were linked to child deaths in Uzbekistan and The Gambia. Sudhir Pathak, the managing director of QP Pharmachem, stated that the company had legally exported the batch of 18,346 bottles to Cambodia and was unaware of how the product ended up in the Marshall Islands and Micronesia.
Sudhir Pathak explained that his company did not send the bottles of cough syrup to the Pacific region, and the product was not authorized for use there. He stated that QP Pharmachem was unaware of how the bottles had ended up in the Marshall Islands and Micronesia. The company has sent a legal notice to the firm responsible for exporting the medicines to Cambodia. The WHO confirmed that the Therapeutic Goods Administration in Australia tested the product, which is typically used for relieving cough symptoms and chest congestion. The syrup was marketed by Trillium Pharma, a company based in Haryana state. The BBC was unable to contact a representative from Trillium Pharma. The Indian government has yet to respond to the latest warning. The WHO's statement also noted that neither the manufacturer nor the marketer had provided any assurance regarding the safety and quality of the product.
India is the primary global supplier of generic drugs and plays a crucial role in providing medical resources to developing nations. However, several Indian companies have faced criticism in recent months regarding the quality of their drugs, with experts raising concerns about the manufacturing processes used to produce these medications. In October, the WHO issued a worldwide warning after linking four cough syrups manufactured by Maiden Pharmaceuticals to the deaths of 66 children who suffered from kidney injuries in The Gambia. Both the Indian government and Maiden Pharmaceuticals denied the allegations.
A manufacturing license for a company was revoked by India in March after its cough syrups were linked to 18 child deaths in Uzbekistan. In the current month, the FDA revealed that an Indian manufacturer of eye drops connected to three deaths and severe infections in the US had violated multiple safety regulations.