New Delhi: The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed “deep concern” over significant gaps in India’s drug safety regulations following the deaths of at least 20 children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan linked to contaminated cough syrups. The global health body also warned that these toxic medicines could have reached other countries through informal markets.
The deaths, which occurred over the past month, are associated with three specific cough syrups found to contain diethylene glycol (DEG), a toxic industrial solvent. In response, Indian authorities have arrested the owner of one of the pharmaceutical companies, halted production, and launched a multi-state investigation.
The crisis has become a subject of national alarm for parents in a country where administering oral syrups to children is common practice. Most of the fatalities were children under five in Madhya Pradesh who consumed ‘Coldrif’ syrup, reportedly suffering from fever, vomiting, and urinary problems before a rapid decline.
India’s drug regulator has identified the contaminated syrups as Coldrif (Sresan Pharmaceuticals), Respifresh (Rednex Pharmaceuticals), and ReLife (Shape Pharma). On Thursday, police arrested G. Ranganathan, the 73-year-old owner of Chennai-based Sresan Pharmaceuticals. Tamil Nadu’s Health Minister has stated that the firm’s manufacturing license will be “permanently cancelled.”
A subsequent inspection of the Sresan facility by the Tamil Nadu Drug Control department uncovered a staggering 364 manufacturing rule violations, including 39 classified as “very serious.” The report cited unhygienic storage, contaminated water sources, unqualified staff, and a complete lack of a quality assurance department.
This incident is the latest in a series of global scandals involving Indian-made cough syrups. In 2023, syrups tainted with DEG were linked to the deaths of over 70 children in The Gambia and 18 in Uzbekistan. Another incident in Jammu in late 2019 led to the deaths of at least 12 children from a similar contamination.
