The food and drug administration of the Maharashtra government inspected 84 companies manufacturing cough expectorants, of which 17 have been issued show-cause notices, four others have been instructed to stop their production, and licences of six have been terminated, informed FDA minister Sanjay Rathod on Friday while the assembly was discussing the issue raised by Bharatiya Janata Party MLA and Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar through the calling-attention motion.
“The World Health Organization pointed out that 66 children may have died after consuming the cough expectorants that were exported from our country owing to the harmful ingredients in them. It’s mandatory to export medicines manufactured within the state after conducting the stability test. But it has been found that in February 2023, 2,000 medicines manufactured by over 200 drug manufacturers in the state were being exported without any kind of stability test certificate,” said Shelar during the discussion.
The BJP MLA further demanded that an “inquiry must be set up on the 200 drug manufacturing companies and licences must be terminated for those found guilty. Considering the intensity of the offence and case of culpable homicide must be registered against the said companies”.
Minister Sanjay Rathod replied on the floor of the House that the WHO had issued a report on the death of 66 children in the Gambia in October 2022. Accordingly, the food and drug administration of the state government had issued a circular dated October 7, 2022, stating that inspections will be carried out against manufacturers of oral syrups. 84 companies were inspected. A total of 27 companies were found to have failed the stability test requirement. Necessary action has been taken against them, he said.
In Maharashtra, there are 996 allopathic manufacturers, of which 514 manufacturers export their products, said the minister. Also, last year, nearly 8,259 retailers were inspected. Of these, show-cause notices were sent to 2,000 retailers, licences of 424 were cancelled, and offences were registered against 56 retailers, he informed. The minister also assured that since the matter is serious, a meeting will be held soon.
Leader of the opposition Ajit Pawar and MLAs Yogesh Sagar and Jaikumar Rawal participated in this discussion. Even presiding officer Sanjay Shirsat directed the state government to take serious note of the matter.
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