Uzbekistan syrup deaths case: Marion Biotech’s production licence suspended; fresh inspection after WHO alert

The production licence of Noida-based pharma firm Marion Biotech, allegedly linked with the deaths of children in Uzbekistan, has been suspended while the test results of its controversial cough syrup are awaited, an Uttar Pradesh (UP) drug official said yesterday.

A team of central agencies and the UP drug department yesterday carried out a fresh inspection at Marion Biotech’s office, a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a medical product alert on Ambronol and Dok-1 Max syrups, both manufactured by the firm.

India’s central regulatory body for pharma and medical devices, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), had, in December, initiated a probe in connection with the death of 18 children in Uzbekistan allegedly linked to Marion Biotech’s cough syrup.

The health ministry of Uzbekistan claimed these children had consumed the cough syrup.

The central and state teams had earlier carried out an inspection at the firm’s office on 29th December, and taken six samples of Dok-1 Max for testing, while, yesterday, they took four samples of Ambranol, the official said.

During the December 29 inspection, the firm representatives could not produce documents related to the production of ‘Dok-1 max’ cough syrup, prompting the government to order halting of its production immediately, Vaibhav Babbar, Drug Inspector, Gautam Buddh Nagar, said.

“The production licence of the firm remains suspended, as was ordered on 29th December. Now, the suspension order has been issued in writing to the firm on 10th January, and has been acknowledged by the firm,” Babbar told PTI.

According to him, a fresh inspection was done yesterday during which four samples of Ambranol cough syrup were taken for testing. Documents related to Ambranol production were also examined.

On the status of the test results, the officer said the samples were taken by the central agencies and their results are yet to come.

Marion Biotech did not sell ‘Dok-1 Max’ and Ambronol in India and its only export has been to Uzbekistan, Babbar said and estimated that the company exported around 1 lakh Dok-1 Max syrups in 45 days.

Earlier, the WHO also issued a ‘medical product alert,’ referring to two substandard (contaminated) products, identified in Uzbekistan and reported to it on 22nd December, 2022.

According to WHO, substandard medical products are those that fail to meet quality standards or specifications and are therefore “out of specification.” “The two products are AMBRONOL syrup and DOK-1 Max syrup. The stated manufacturer of both products is MARION BIOTECH PVT. LTD, (Uttar Pradesh, India). To date, the stated manufacturer has not provided guarantees to WHO on the safety and quality of these products,” the WHO stated. “Laboratory analysis of samples of both products, undertaken by national quality control laboratories of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan found both products contained unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and/or ethylene glycol as contaminants,” it said. The global health body said that diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are toxic to humans when consumed and can prove fatal. “The substandard products referenced in this alert are unsafe and their use, especially in children, may result in serious injury or death.

“Toxic effects can include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state and acute kidney injury which may lead to death,” it said. The WHO also noted that both of these products “may have marketing authorisations” in other countries in the region. “They may also have been distributed, through informal markets, to other countries or regions.” Hasan Harris, a legal representative of Marion Biotech, had earlier said that the governments of both countries are looking into the matter.

The company had stopped production of the cough syrup after the case came to light.

Edits by EP News Bureau