The syrup was recalled from the market and its production was halted.
Indian drug regulator on February 27 said it is investigating the deaths of 12 children in Jammu linked to the consumption of a cough syrup that allegedly contained a poisonous compound called Diethylene Glycol.
VG Somani, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) said he is closely monitoring the investigation. Somani said samples of the cough syrup are being tested and reports are expected by the end of next week.
“We are doing an investigation. We are taking no chance, every factory and asset is frozen, nothing to be distributed, unless the results are out,” Somani told media on the sidelines of an industry event.
The cough syrup sold under brand name Coldbest-PC, which is under investigation, was made by Himachal Pradesh-based drug maker Digital Vision. The syrup was recalled from the market and its production was halted.
The company denied any wrongdoing and said it has complied with good manufacturing practices.
The samples of the cough syrup were also sent to Regional Drugs Testing Laboratory, Chandigarh for further testing.
Somani said it’s unfair to point fingers while the investigation is underway.
“We have taken the samples and sent them for testing. We are also checking the entire supply chain to see if there is any contamination,” he said.
“Around 50,000 bottles have been supplied and cases were only 12. We have to go into the nitty-gritty, whether it was the fault of some extra irrational medication or medical negligence or just the product fault. All this will have to be determined by the investigation,” Somani said.
