Amid reports of deaths of children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan due to consumption of contaminated cough syrups, the Gujarat government has ordered two pharmaceutical firms, under investigation, to suspend manufacturing immediately.
The government said that after an “intensive inspection” the Surendranagar-based Shape Pharma Pvt Ltd and Ahmedabad-based Rednex Pharmaceuticals Ltd have been ordered to suspend its operations.
These two firms have come under the scanner following the tragic deaths of the children after they consumed cough syrup produced by them.
“Based on deficiencies found in the inspection reports, both companies have been ordered to immediately suspend drug manufacturing. They have also been strictly instructed to recall all batches of Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) drugs from the market without delay,” Gujarat health minister Rushikesh Patel told media persons.
In a statement, the government said that as a precautionary measure, 14 additional cough syrup samples have been collected from both the firms and sent to government laboratories for testing. The minister clarified that these two firms were not on the “buyer list” of the state-owned medicine procurement firm Gujarat Medical Services Corporation Ltd.
On Monday, the Madhya Pradesh government suspended the Deputy Controller and two drug inspectors of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) in connection with the death of 14 children, allegedly after consuming a cough syrup adulterated with a toxic chemical.
Deputy Controller Shobhit Kosta, drug inspectors Gaurav Sharma (Chhindwara) and Sharad Kumar Jain (Jabalpur) were suspended while Controller Dinesh Maurya was transferred following directions from Chief Minister Mohan Yadav after he held a high-level meeting.
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