Manufacturing at Noida-based pharma company halted: Health Minister amid Uzbekistan’s cough syrup deaths claim

New Delhi [India], December 30 (ANI): Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said that all the manufacturing activities of the Noida-based pharma company have been stopped in view of the reports of contamination in cough syrup Dok1 Max.

“Following inspection by @CDSCO_INDIA_INF [Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation] team in view of reports of contamination in cough syrup Dok1 Max, all manufacturing activities of Marion Biotech at NOIDA unit have been stopped yesterday night, while further investigation is ongoing,” Mansukh Mandaviya said in a tweet.

Noida-based pharma Marion Biotech has come under a cloud as reports of children dying after consuming cough syrup made here came in from Uzbekistan. The matter is under investigation.

The company is waiting for the reports as it needs to be found out why cases came from a single hospital in Uzbekistan.

“We await the reports, factory was inspected. We have halted the production of all medicines. It needs to be found why cases came from a single hospital there. Our products also go to other countries,” Marion Biotech Pharma Company legal head Hasan Harris said.

Health Ministry of Uzbekistan had claimed on Wednesday that as many as 18 children had died of acute respiratory disease after consuming cough syrup manufactured by Indian pharmaceutical firm Doc-Max.

On Thursday, the Indian mission in Uzbekistan expressed condolences to the family members of children who died allegedly due to consumption of contaminated cough syrup Dok1 Max, made by Noida-based Marion Biotech.

The Indian mission said the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) of India has also maintained regular contact with the national drug regulator of Uzbekistan since December 27, under the direction of the India Health Ministry.

The statement from the embassy further said the samples of the cough syrup have been taken from the manufacturing premises and sent to the Regional Drugs Testing Laboratory (RDTL) in Chandigarh, India for testing.