India acts against 105 pharmaceutical firms after cough syrup deaths

India’s Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said Tuesday that the government has recently taken measures against 105 pharmaceutical companies for not meeting quality standards.

This measure comes after the deaths of dozens of children in several countries linked to the consumption of cough syrups by Indian firms.

A total 137 firms were inspected and action was taken against 105 firms, Mandaviya said during a meeting with representatives of small and medium scale companies from the Indian pharmaceutical sector, according to a statement by the ministry.

Among the actions taken against companies that did not meet the required quality standards, production was stopped in 30 of them, while the manufacturing licenses of another 50 firms were canceled.

Moreover, show cause notice has been issued to 73 firms, and warning letters have been issued against 21 firms, the ministry said.

Mandaviya said “there shall be no compromise with the quality of drugs manufactured in India,” and urged pharmaceutical companies to self-regulate so as not to jeopardize the image of the Asian country as the pharmacy of the world.

India faced international scrutiny in recent months following alerts issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other regional authorities, after several adulterated cough syrups were linked to the deaths of 78 children in Uzbekistan and Gambia.

In February, an ophthalmological solution produced in India and marketed in the United States generated a warning from the US health authorities, which linked it to a series of eye infections.

However, the inspection carried out by the Indian health authorities ruled out that the ophthalmological solution was contaminated despite the US warning.

India is known as ‘the pharmacy of the world’ for its large-scale production of low-cost generic drugs and active components, as well as having the second largest number of FDA-approved production plants in the world, behind the US.