WHO Issues Alert Over Punjab-Made Cough Syrup; Firm Says Duplication To Defame India

The WHO stated that samples of the syrup from a batch in the Marshall Islands and Micronesia were found to contain “unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol”.

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New Delhi: Days after a row over deaths in Uzbekistan due to India-made cough syrup, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has once again raised an alarm over another cough syrup made in Punjab. The UN health body issued the warning after receiving complaints about contaminated cough syrup in Marshal Islands and Micronesia. Issuing a warning, the WHO said that the syrup is unsafe for use, especially in children, due to the presence of high levels of contaminants. "Its consumption can cause severe injury and even death," the top world health body stated in its warning.

The cough syrup in question is manufactured and marketed by Punjab-based QP Pharma Chem Ltd and Trillium Pharma respectively. The WHO further stated that samples of the syrup from a batch in the Marshall Islands and Micronesia were found to contain “unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol”, chemicals toxic to humans that can prove fatal when consumed.

 The global health body also stated that neither the manufacturer nor the marketer has provided guarantees to it on the safety and quality of these products.

Here's the WHO Alert Over Punjab-Made Cough Syrup

World Health Organisation has issued 'WHO Medical Product Alert' after "Substandard (contaminated)" Guaifenesin Syrup TG Syrup was found in the Marshall Islands and Micronesia.

The manufacturer of the affected product is QP Pharma Chem Limited in Punjab, India. The marketer of… pic.twitter.com/7IdSpmSo9J

— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2023

Duplication To Defame India, Says Manufacturer

Reacting to the WHO warning, Managing Director of QP Pharma Chem Limited Sudhir Pathak said the Food And Drug Administration of Punjab doubts that someone has duplicated the product (cough syrup) sent to Cambodia and then sold it in the Marshall Islands and Micronesia to defame the Government of India.

The FDA department has taken samples of cough syrup sent to Cambodia for testing. A total of 18,336 bottles of cough syrup were sent. However, this is the fourth such case since October when the WHO raised alarm about the quality of India-made drugs. Earlier, the authorities in the Gambia and Uzbekistan had blamed contaminated India-made cough syrups for child deaths last year.