July 11, 2025 03:46 am (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
Aadhaar, Ration and Voter IDs must be valid for SIR: Supreme Court to Election Commission | 'Timing and not exercise is the problem': Supreme Court on Election Commission's voter list revision drive in Bihar | ED files case against 29 celebs including Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati for endorsing betting apps | Enforcement Directorate raids Karnataka Congress MLA's premises in FEMA case probe | Maharashtra MLA canteen's license cancelled after Sena lawmaker assaulted staff over poor quality food | IAF Jaguar fighter jet crashes in Rajasthan, pilot dies | Namibia is a valued partner, says PM Modi after arriving in Windhoek | Nine people killed as vehicles fell into river after bridge collapses in Gujarat's Vadodara | Alia Bhatt's former personal assistant arrested for cheating actress of Rs. 76.9 lakh | 'We will together defeat TMC in 2026': Disgruntled BJP leader Dilip Ghosh after meeting new Bengal unit chief Samik Bhattacharya
Uzbek child deaths
Image Credit: twitter.com/MEAIndia

India seeking details on Uzbekistan's investigation into child deaths linked to India-made cough syrup: Arindam Bagchi

| @indiablooms | Dec 30, 2022, at 02:25 am

New Delhi/IBNS: After Uzbekistan blamed Indian cough syrup for the death of 18 children in the country, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi Thursday said the domestic pharma industry remains a reliable supplier of drugs across the world.

According to the press service of Uzbekistan’s health ministry, laboratory studies by a special working group detected ethylene glycol in Dok-1 Max, a cough syrup made by Noida-based Marion Biotech, consumed by the children suffering from acute respiratory diseases.

Eighteen out of the 21 children died after taking the syrup, the study had said.

Describing the death of 18 children, Bagchi said Uzbek authorities have not formally taken up the matter with India.

“Nevertheless, our embassy has contacted the Uzbek side and is seeking further details of their own investigation,” he added.

He said the deaths appeared to have occurred over the period of two months.

“We understand that the Uzbek authorities are investigating this case, including whether there is a possible link with a cough syrup allegedly manufactured in India,” he said.

“We understand that legal action has been initiated by the Uzbek authorities against some people, including the local representative of the company there. In that context, we are extending necessary consular assistance to [that] individual,” he added.

Referring to a statement by the Union health ministry, Bagchi said the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has been in touch with Uzbekistan’s national drug regulator pertaining to the matter since December 27.

The Uttar Pradesh Drug Control and CDSCO held a joint inspection of Marion Biotech’s manufacturing unit in Noida and “further action as appropriate will be initiated based on the inspection report,” the health ministry said.

Marion Biotech is licensed by the Drugs Controller of Uttar Pradesh for manufacturing Dok-1 Max syrup and tablets for export.

Samples of the cough syrup collected from the factory have already been sent to the Regional Drugs Testing Laboratory (RDTL) in Chandigarh for tests.

The MEA spokesperson said he would be “very hesitant” to compare the situation in Uzbekistan with that of Gambia where 63 child deaths were linked to a cough syrup made by another Indian company. 

“There are proper investigative mechanisms to find out what happened [and] each incident would be different. In the other case, the drug regulatory authorities were in touch with the WHO and the company,” he said.

“The Indian pharmaceutical industry has been a reliable supplier to countries across the world. It continues to be, in various forms of medicines or other pharmaceutical products. We take very seriously any such incidents when they come up...Let me not jump the process without the full investigation [having been completed],” Bagchi said.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Close menu