India - ‘Pharmacy of the World,’

  The recent deaths of 66 children in the Gambia due to using a cough syrup produced by India highlight the importance of an effective regulatory agency. It exposes the failure of government labs to run impurity tests on all medicines.

Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a company based in Haryana had been producing and exporting cough syrups to the African country. Four cough syrups manufactured by them contained diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol. These chemicals can cause active kidney damage if consumed above the prescribed amounts. 

The company claimed that it is WHO-certified and has ‘good manufacturing practices, but the World Health Organisation has denied such a claim. Studies also suggest that Maiden Pharmaceuticals were responsible for manufacturing many substandard medicines over the years. Yet no action has been taken.

Most state-regulated labs in India skip the impurity test or run it only on a handful of drugs. The Drugs and Cosmetics Act asserts the need for impurity tests on all medicines. But, most labs fall short of the necessary equipment to conduct these tests. Inadequate funding fuels the crisis, resulting in the export of substandard drugs to underdeveloped or developing countries. Most of these low and middle-income countries cannot run tests on substandard medicines owing to the high expenses incurred while conducting such tests. Maybe, companies in India used it as an opportunity to send impure drugs to these countries. Previously drugs ridden with impurities were found in many Indian states on several occasions- the glaring one was the death of 11 children in Jammu in 2019.

The substandard cough syrups which affected children in the Gambia are a blow to India’s economic and foreign policy. Exporting drugs without impurity tests is hampering India’s global presence in the pharmaceutical industry. Many erring pharmaceutical companies are popping up in India. Such companies care about their profits and turn a blind eye to the noble task of manufacturing drugs for healing patients. 

‘Pharmacy Of The World’- A Phrase Dangling With Uncertainty| Countercurrents