India cancels license of company linked with child deaths
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The investigation was conducted after Uzbek Health Ministry verified the death of 18 of the 21 infants who ingested the new cough medication.
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The logo of Marion Biotech, a healthcare and pharmaceutical company, is seen on a gate outside their office in Noida, India, on December 29, 2022. (Reuters)
Indian authorities canceled the license of Marion Biotech, an Indian pharmaceutical company involved in the death of 18 children in Uzbekistan, said an Indian government official on Thursday.
"The firm's license was under suspension since January after which a detailed inquiry was initiated. Now the license of the firm has been canceled by the Uttar Pradesh Drugs Controlling and Licensing Authority. The firm can no longer manufacture the syrup [that was linked with the deaths]," a government official said, as quoted by Indian media outlet Press Trust of India.
18 children died in Uzbekistan in December. After an investigation was conducted, it showed that the incident was linked to the cough syrup that the pharmaceutical company Marion Biotech was producing. It is safe to say that the medicine did not meet quality requirements.
Read more: India launches inquiry into children deaths linked to syrups: Reports
The investigation was conducted after Uzbek Health Ministry verified the death of 18 of the 21 infants who ingested the new cough medication.
Laboratory examinations indicated the presence of ethylene glycol, a hazardous chemical, in a batch of syrups. The medical examination materials were turned over to police enforcement.
The cough medication was intended to be used as a cold treatment by parents. Parents gave their children the medication in doses exceeding the standard without a doctor's prescription.
As such, the medicine was withdrawn from all pharmacies in Uzbekistan after the incident, the Ministry announced.
This marks a second occurrence of such a case in India involving cough syrup which took place in 2022 when the Gambian government reported 70 deaths from acute renal failure in October.
Read next: Cough syrup investigated over death of 66 children in The Gambia
