India launches probe after 19 children die in Uzbekistan due to Indian-made syrup

By Burc Eruygur and Ahmad Adil

ISTANBUL / NEW DELHI (AA) – India has launched a probe after authorities in Uzbekistan on Thursday said that 19 children in the country died because of side effects of a cough syrup manufactured by an Indian pharmaceutical firm.

Ajay Kumar Jain, a top official of the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department in India’s Uttar Pradesh state told Anadolu Agency that investigations are underway against the pharma company.

"The probe is jointly done by the state and federal drug authorities," he said, adding samples from the firm have been taken for testing.

The children in Uzbekistan died due to the consumption of Dok-1 Max syrup manufactured by the Indian company Marion Biotech located in Noida city of the Uttar Pradesh state.

Over one-year-old baby who consumed Indian-made Dok-1 Max syrup was brought to the Qashqadaryo branch of the Republican Scientific and Practical Center of Emergency Medical Care where he died on Wednesday, a statement from the prosecutor's office of the Qashqadaryo region said early on Thursday.

The statement follows another announcement made by the Uzbek Health Ministry on Tuesday, which reported that 18 children with acute respiratory disease have died as a result of taking Doc-1 Max syrup.

“It was found that the deceased children, before admission to hospital treatment, took this drug at home for two to seven days 3-4 times a day, with a quantity of 2.5-5 ml, which exceeds the standard dose of the drug for children,” the Health Ministry’s statement said.

It also noted that the syrup was manufactured by India-based Marion Biotech Pvt. Ltd. was registered for use in the country in 2012 and was imported into Uzbekistan by Quramax Medikal LLC.

“All children were given the drug without a doctor's prescription. Since the main component of the drug is paracetamol, Doc-1 Max syrup was incorrectly used by parents as an anti-cold remedy on their own or on the recommendation of pharmacy sellers. And this was the reason for the deterioration of the condition of patients,” the statement added, further noting that the syrup contains ethylene glycol which it declared toxic.

The statement also announced that Dok-1 Max tablets and syrups have been withdrawn from sale nationwide, urging parents to purchase medicines only by prescription.

In a statement, the Indian government said on Thursday that the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), the country’s drug regulatory body, "is in regular contact with the national drug regulator of Uzbekistan" regarding the matter since Dec. 27.

The statement also said: “Joint inspection of the Noida facility of the manufacturer, Marion Biotech, was carried out by UP Drug Control and CDSCO team and further action as appropriate would be initiated based on the inspection report.”

The latest incident follows a similar incident that took place in Gambia in October when World Health Organization issued a medical alert for four contaminated medicines detected in Gambia linked with acute kidney injuries and 66 child deaths. The medicines were cough and cold syrups produced by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited in India.

However, earlier this month, the Indian Parliament was informed by the Health Ministry that "control samples" of the drugs from the manufacturing unit were drawn and sent for test and analysis.

"As per the report of the government analyst, the samples have been declared to be of standard quality," the ministry said.