{"id":22781,"date":"2022-10-10T21:51:14","date_gmt":"2022-10-10T21:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/?p=22781"},"modified":"2022-10-10T21:51:14","modified_gmt":"2022-10-10T21:51:14","slug":"toxic-cough-syrup-from-india-kills-in-gambia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/toxic-cough-syrup-from-india-kills-in-gambia","title":{"rendered":"Toxic Cough Syrup From India Kills in Gambia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>Hi there, it\u2019s Chris in Mumbai. The tragic deaths of dozens of children in a tiny West African nation has shone a spotlight on India\u2019s colossal pharmaceutical industry. But first…<\/p>\n

\u201cQuality you would expect at price you wouldn\u2019t,\u201d reads the grammatically challenged tag line on the Facebook page of Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd.<\/a>, one of the thousands of little-known Indian drugmakers that churn out cheap, generic medicines consumed by patients around the world.<\/p>\n

For decades India\u2019s fast-growing pharma industry has been hailed for bringing affordable drugs to the masses. But a lethal price was recently paid by 69 Gambian children \u2014 deaths the World Health Organization last week said was potentially linked<\/a> to four cold and cough syrups produced by Maiden Pharma. They contained \u201cunacceptable amounts\u201d of contaminating diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, said the WHO analysis.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s health ministry attempted to calm anxious parents, claiming the mixtures weren\u2019t being sold domestically and saying that the Gambian authorities should have tested the imported products.<\/p>\n

Yet the disaster was sadly predictable, according to health campaigners and lawyers who pointed out that Maiden\u2019s products were repeatedly flagged by some Indian states and foreign regulators for irregularities in recent years. (In a statement to Indian media, Maiden said officials at the federal drug regulator visited its factory and have taken samples, adding the company \u201cdiligently\u201d followed health protocols and had valid drug export approvals.)For Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s government, the Gambian deaths are another blow to hopes of establishing India\u2019s $42 billion drugmaking industry as the \u201cpharmacy of the world.\u201d Multiple medical scandals<\/a> have originated from Indian plants, but attempts at reform are being complicated by the country\u2019s maze of state and federal level regulations. The patchy quality of domestic inspections and the entrenched culture of jugaad<\/a> \u2014 creative improvisation or bending the rules, depending on your interpretation \u2014 are also obstacles to progress.<\/p>\n

That mentality has helped cut costs to 33% lower than in Western markets, according to an investment promotion agency<\/a> estimate, but can have dangerous consequences.<\/p>\n

After the nearly two-year hiatus during the Covid-19 pandemic, the return of US Food and Drug Administration inspectors to Indian factories has revealed a fresh batch of potentially dangerous production defects at plants exporting to American patients. The Gambian deaths are a reminder of how much still falls through the cracks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey got a break from oversight during the pandemic,\u201d Dinesh Thakur, a former Indian pharma executive turned industry critic, told me earlier this year. \u201cI don\u2019t think anything materially has changed in the way these manufacturers operate.\u201d \u2014 Chris Kay<\/a><\/p>\n

Ask us anything \u2014 well, anything health-related that is! Each week we\u2019re picking a reader question and putting it to our network of experts. So get in touch via AskPrognosis@bloomberg.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. Hi there, it\u2019s Chris in Mumbai. The tragic deaths of dozens of children in a tiny West African nation has shone a spotlight on India\u2019s colossal pharmaceutical industry. But first… \u201cQuality you would expect at price you wouldn\u2019t,\u201d reads the grammatically challenged tag line on the Facebook page of Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd., […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":22780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,7,2366],"tags":[2355,2361,260,8608],"class_list":["post-22781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-head-lines","category-to-homepage","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-gambia","tag-gambia","tag-toxic-cough"],"yoast_head":"\nToxic Cough Syrup From India Kills in Gambia - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/toxic-cough-syrup-from-india-kills-in-gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Toxic Cough Syrup From India Kills in Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – Gambia. Hi there, it\u2019s Chris in Mumbai. The tragic deaths of dozens of children in a tiny West African nation has shone a spotlight on India\u2019s colossal pharmaceutical industry. 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