Indian pharmaceutical industry faces ‘a lot of harm’ from global scrutiny over cough syrup deaths

Analysts say Indian authorities should move quickly to investigate allegations of cough syrup test swaps

To salvage the US$41 billion pharmaceutical industry’s reputation, the India government’s efforts to improve standard of exports should be comprehensive instead of ‘knee jerk’

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Indian authorities conducted tests on the Maiden Pharmaceuticals syrups late last year after the WHO linked them to the deaths of at least 70 children in Gambia, most below age five, from acute kidney injury between June and October. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:00am, 15 Jun 2023Updated: 10:42am, 15 Jun 2023

India needs to quickly investigate allegations that a local regulator helped switch samples of cough syrups linked to deaths of children in Gambia, and punish the wrongdoers to restore the reputation of the South Asian nation’s US$41 billion pharmaceutical industry, analysts have said.

The comments by analysts followed a Tuesday report by Reuters, which reviewed a letter written by a lawyer named Yashpal who accused Haryana state’s drug controller, Manmohan Taneja, of accepting a bribe of 50 million rupees (US$605,000) from local manufacturer Maiden Pharmaceuticals to help it switch the syrup samples before an Indian government laboratory tested them. Maiden’s factory is based in Haryana state.

Reuters was unable to independently establish that any bribes were paid.

Indian authorities conducted tests on the Maiden Pharmaceuticals syrups late last year after the World Health Organization (WHO) linked them to the deaths of at least 70 children in Gambia, most below age five, from acute kidney injury between June and October.