Maiden Pharma’s factory wears a deserted look as its fate hangs in the balance

An eerie silence engulfs the manufacturing facility of Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited, the firm that is in the dock for its contaminated cold and cough syrups linked to the deaths of 66 children in The Gambia.

State drug control officials were inside the factory for a second straight day to investigate the concerns raised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) after Central agencies sent the samples picked up from the factory for testing.

According to Haryana Drug Controller official Rakesh Dahiya, Senior Drug Control Officer Sandeep Hooda, and Drug Inspector Manmohan Taneja, senior drug control officers of Haryana were investigating the records related to the available batches of the products exported by the company to the west African country.

The factory has stopped all production activities, say the security guards deployed at the main gate.

The security guards deployed at the gate have been asked to keep a strict eye on those entering the premises.

"The entry of outsiders and media is prohibited," said a guard deployed at the gate.

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Some cleaning workers from the top floor hint that everything has been closed down in the factory.

The medical alert issued by WHO has been put up at the front gate of the factory.

The main gate also displays another notice from the Medicines Control Agency of Gambia calling for complete recall of the contaminated drugs.

As media personnel waited outside the factory, a nervous and perplexed Naresh Goel, Managing Director of Maiden Pharmaceuticals, came out to discuss some issue with a confidant. He, however, did not to respond to media’s queries related to the export of contaminated products to The Gambia.

Read More: Indian pharma company under fire for Gambia child deaths has a history of selling substandard drugs

So, far the company’s officials have maintained a stoic silence on the issue.

The factory employs 800 to 1,000 workers, who have been told not to attend work at the factory in the wake of the visit by the drug regulator over the quality of drugs produced at the unit.

"Both men and women work here in the factory. For the last two days, all have been told not to come until further notice," said Ramchander, a worker at an adjacent dairy factory.

The Health Ministry has said that samples of four contaminated products have been sent to the Central Drug Laboratory, Chandigarh, for testing, and results will be available soon.

It all started on October 5 when WHO issued an alert advising the public to stop consumption of four medical products produced by Maiden Pharmaceuticals that were found to be substandard.

Also Read: Gambia cough syrup deaths: Samples sent for testing, results to come in two days