New Delhi: The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has told drug controllers in all states and Union territories to step up their testing and monitoring of medications after 20 children died in Madhya Pradesh from what is thought to be tainted cough syrup.
The central drug regulator told officials on Wednesday that they must make sure that no batch of medicines is sold without being properly tested. It also stressed the importance of a strong vendor qualification system and told firms to only use raw materials from trusted and recognized sources.
20 Kids Die After Drinking Coldrif Cough Syrup That Was Contaminated
The order comes following the deaths of 20 youngsters in Chhindwara district, Madhya Pradesh, who are said to have died from kidney failure after drinking Coldrif Cough Syrup. The syrup was found to have harmful chemicals in it, which caused uproar across the country and led to a closer look at how drugs are made.
The CDSCO said in its statement, “The directorate has repeatedly stressed the importance of testing all raw materials, including excipients, before their use in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical formulations.” It also said that quality control failures would not be tolerated.
The Tamil Nadu government shuts down a pharmaceutical unit and the SIT looks into the manufacturer.
After the news came out, the Tamil Nadu authorities closed the manufacturing unit of the Chennai-based pharmaceutical business that made the illegal cough syrup on Tuesday night.
As part of an ongoing investigation into the deaths of children, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) from the Madhya Pradesh Police also went to the company’s registered office in Chennai and its factory in Kancheepuram.
On Wednesday, Tamil Nadu’s Health Minister Ma Subramanian said that the state had sent a second notice to the manufacturer. This was because laboratory tests showed that diethylene glycol, a toxic chemical that has been linked to deadly poisoning cases in the past involving contaminated cough syrup, was present.
Subramanian stated, “The state government has warned that it will take legal action against the Chennai-based company for breaking drug safety rules and putting public health at risk.”
The Center calls for strict monitoring all over India.
The CDSCO’s most recent order is a big step toward making sure that everyone is paying attention to the pharmaceutical supply chain. It has ordered state authorities to make surveillance systems stronger, with an emphasis on small and medium-sized manufacturers, to stop the spread of pharmaceuticals that are not up to standards or have been tampered with.
The Centre’s decision comes at a time when people are worried about the deaths of people who took cough syrup in India and other countries. This has brought attention to the problems with quality control in the country’s medication manufacturing industry.