India in diplomatic effort to protect drug exports after Gambia,
Uzbekistan deaths
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[April 05, 2023]
By Krishna N. Das
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian officials are in contact with foreign
authorities and have held meetings in Africa to ensure its drug exports
do not suffer, the government said on Wednesday, after Indian-made cough
syrups were linked to deaths in Gambia and Uzbekistan.
India's drug industry is one of the biggest in the world but its
reputation has been shaken after tests conducted by the World Health
Organization and other agencies showed toxins in the cough syrups. The
tainted products were linked to the deaths of 70 children in Gambia and
19 in Uzbekistan last year.
Asked by an Indian lawmaker if the government had assessed the impact of
the incidents on medicine exports, the deputy trade and industry
minister said that various agencies were working on the matter.
"Indian Missions abroad are having regular interactions with the
authorities to retain the confidence within the drug regulatory
agencies," Anupriya Patel said.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Apr/05/images/ads/current/ldn_sda_KAREN_012823.png)
"To build confidence and also to ensure continuity of the trade,
Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India has led business
delegations to African and Commonwealth of Independent States countries
and had one-to-one discussions with drug regulating agencies and pharma
trade associations assuring them of the quality of Indian generic
products."
The export council is also conducting workshops and training programmes
with Indian exporters on "quality management and to apprise them of the
international standards and their compliance", she said.
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![](../images/040523PIX/health85.jpg)
Police is seen at the gate of an office
of Marion Biotech, a healthcare and pharmaceutical company and a
part of the Emenox Group, whose cough syrup has been linked to the
deaths of children in Uzbekistan, in Noida, India, December 29,
2022. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Apr/05/images/ads/current/heartland_lda_040123.jpg) India is the world's largest
supplier of generic medicines with a 20% share by volume. More than
3,000 pharmaceutical companies make their products in the country
through a network of more than 10,500 manufacturing plants.
Between 2014 and 2022, India's pharmaceutical exports more than
doubled to $24.6 billion, according to government data.
India has pushed back against allegations that cough syrups made by
Maiden Pharmaceuticals contained toxins and killed the children in
Gambia, disputing findings of the WHO.
Maiden has denied that its drugs were at fault for the deaths, and
tests by an Indian government laboratory found no toxins in them. A
company director did not immediately answer his phone on Thursday.
Indian police, however, have arrested three employees of another
company, Marion Biotech, whose cough syrups sold to Uzbekistan had
been found contaminated. Marion did not immediately respond to an
email and a call seeking comment.
(Reporting by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
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