The Uttar Pradesh Police on Friday arrested three employees of the Noida-based pharmaceuticals company, Marion Biotech, which had supplied spurious cough syrup to Uzbekistan.
Cough syrup Doc-1 Max, manufactured by Marion Biotech, had killed 18 children last year.
The Noida police arrested Tuhin Bhattacharya, Mool Singh and Atul Rawat, employees of the pharma company on charges of manufacturing and sale of adulterated drugs. Marion Biotech owners Jaya Jain and Sachin Jain have been absconding. A senior police officer said, “A search is underway to nab the absconding pharma company owners. They will be put behind bars soon.”
The arrests were made after an FIR was lodged late on Thursday night against five officials of Marion Biotech, including two of its directors, over a complaint by a drugs inspector of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), officials said.
A drug inspector alleged that according to standards, the cough syrup was not good for consumption. Preliminary investigations revealed that the cough syrup was not being supplied in the domestic market and one of its lots was exported to Uzbekistan in May 2021. Overdose could be the reason behind the deaths.
Marion Biotech exported AMBRONOL syrup and Dok-1 Max syrup to Uzbekistan and a few other countries. It is not consumed in India. After the report of the death of 18 children in Uzbekistan came in December last year, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had ordered an inspection and testing of the drug.
The pharma firm has been registered for business in Uzbekistan since 2012. The Uzbek government in its complaint had stated, “Both the syrups contained unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and/or ethylene glycol as contaminants.”
After its sample failed the test, the Ghaziabad Drug Inspector lodged an FIR at Phase-2 police station, Noida, against the company owners and three of its employees involved in manufacturing.
The UP Food Security & Drug Administration department had suspended the company's drug licence in January 2023.
The Noida Drug Inspector said during the inspection, the company officials could not provide documents related to cough syrups' manufacturing. Then, the government banned production. The company has been closed since December last.
Marion Biotech is situated at sector 67, Noida, UP. It started its operation in 2010. The company obtained registration under the cosmetics, perfume and other product categories. The cough syrup was being manufactured under the other category. The company was exporting drugs to Russia, South East Asian countries and Uzbekistan.
Other firms under the scanner
The tragedy followed deaths of more than 60 children in Gambia, allegedly caused by Maiden Pharma's syrup. Although Maiden had been cleared by the Drug Controller General of India, the parliamentary committee in Gambia maintained that syrups imported from the firm were contaminated. In both cases, the WHO had issued quick notifications against the use of India-made cough syrups, to prevent more deaths.
Back then, the DCGI had criticised WHO's prompt action in an emergency, claiming that it hurt the image of Indian pharmaceutical companies globally.
