Uzbekistan's health ministry conducted an analysis which showed that the syrups contained a toxic substance, ethylene glycol, and 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 news agency Reuters.
The manufacturer of both these products is India-based Marion Biotech Pvt Ltd. So far, Marion has not provided guarantees to WHO on the safety and quality of these products, the agency said in its statement.
Meanwhile, the WHO is still gathering more information regarding the death of 18 children in Uzbekistan who allegedly died after consuming medicines manufactured by India-based Marion Biotech.
In an official email to the news agency ANI, WHO said, "We are in touch with the Uzbek authorities and are still in the process of gathering information and validating these reports."
The production licence of Marion Biotech company has been seized by Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration department on Tuesday.
"We have suspended the production license of Marion Biotech company after not providing enough documents, show-cause notice was also given by the state licensing authority depending upon the documents asked during the inspection which they didn't provide," said Gautam Buddh Nagar Drug inspector Vaibhav Babbar.
He further said that sample results are still pending.
Before Uzbekistan's claims, there were reports linking the deaths of 70 children in Gambia to cough syrups manufactured by Haryana-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals earlier this year. The Drugs Controller General of India had claimed that the WHO drew a premature link.
(With Reuters inputs)
