India police arrest employees of pharma firm linked to Uzbekistan deaths

[March 03, 2023]  By Saurabh Sharma

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Indian police on Friday arrested three senior employees of a pharmaceutical company whose cough syrups were linked to the deaths of 19 children in Uzbekistan, a police officer told Reuters.

The arrests came after tests by an Indian government laboratory found 22 drug samples of Marion Biotech Pvt Ltd, based near New Delhi, "adulterated and spurious", according to a police document seen by Reuters.

Police said they had arrested a Marion director, a head of operations and a chemist.

Two other directors were "out of the country and will be arrested as soon as they land in India", senior police official Ram Badan Singh said.

The company did not answer calls from Reuters and did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Uzbekistan said in December the children died after consuming Marion's cough syrups.

Analysis by Uzbekistan's health ministry showed the syrups, Ambronol and DOK-1 Max, contained a toxin, ethylene glycol. The syrups were administered in doses higher than the standard for children, either by their parents, who mistook it for an anti-cold remedy, or on the advice of pharmacists, according to the analysis.

(Reporting by Sakshi Dayal and Saurabh Sharma; Editing by Krishna N. Das)

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