'No supply in India': Chemist association on drugs by Indian firm flagged by WHO

New Delhi, Oct 06: All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists on Thursday clarified that there is no supply of drugs in India by the Haryana-based firm that manufactured cough syrups flagged by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "substandard products".

"There is no supply of Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited drugs in India, they only export their products, still, if any guideline is issued by the Drugs Controller General of India we will follow those guidelines," ANI quoted AIOCD as saying.

The global health body issued an alert against four India-made cold and cough syrups that have been "potentially linked" with acute kidney injuries and 66 deaths among children in the African country, The Gambia.

The four products are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup. The stated manufacturer of these products is Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited (Haryana, India). To date, the stated manufacturer has not provided guarantees to WHO on the safety and quality of these products.

Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are toxic to humans when consumed and can prove fatal

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.

All batches of these products should be considered unsafe until they can be analyzed by the relevant National Regulatory Authorities.

The substandard products referenced in this alert are unsafe and their use, especially in children, may result in serious injury or death.