'Substandard': WHO warns against use of Indian cough syrups linked to Uzbekistan deaths

The World Health Organisation WHO has recommended that two cough syrups made by Noidabased company Marion Biotech should not be used for children in UzbekistanIn a medical product alert on Wednesday the WHO said the substandard medical products manufactured by Marion Biotech are products that fail to meet quality standards or specifications and are therefore out of specificationThis WHO Medical Product Alert refers to two substandard contaminated products identified in Uzbekistan and reported to WHO on 22 December 2022 Substandard medical products are products that fail to meet quality standards or specifications and are therefore out of specification the WHO said in an alert released on its websiteThe two products are AMBRONOL syrup and DOK1 Max syrup The stated manufacturer of both products is MARION BIOTECH PVT LTD Uttar Pradesh India To date the stated manufacturer has not provided guarantees to WHO on the safety and quality of these products the alert addedNoidabased pharma Marion Biotech has come under a cloud as reports emerged about the death of children after consuming cough syrup came in from UzbekistanAlso Read WHO chief asks China for rapid reliable data on Covid19 deathsAccording to WHO laboratory analysis of samples of cough syrups undertaken by national quality control laboratories of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan found both products contained unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and or ethylene glycol as contaminantsBoth of these products may have marketing authorizations in other countries in the region They may also have been distributed through informal markets to other countries or regions the WHO alert addedThe UN health agency added that the substandard products referenced in this Alert are unsafe and their use especially in children may result in serious injury or deathOn December 22 Uzbekistan alleged that 18 children had died after consuming medicines manufactured by Marion Biotech company On Tuesday Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration department suspended the production licence of Marion Biotech company linked to Uzbekistans deaths of 18 childrenWe have suspended the production license of Marion Biotech company after not providing enough documents showcause notice was also given by the state licensing authority depending upon the documents asked during the inspection which they didnt provide said Gautam Buddh Nagar Drug inspector Vaibhav BabbarHe further said that sample results are still pendingLast month Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that all manufacturing activities of the Noidabased pharma company have been stopped in view of the reports of contamination in cough syrup Dok1 MaxThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever