Cough syrup-linked deaths | Tamil Nadu govt revokes licence of pharma firm, shuts down company

Chennai: The manufacturing licence of Tamil Nadu based Sresan Pharmaceutical company that allegedly produced the now banned adulterated cough syrup Coldrif has completely been revoked, and the company has been ordered to shut down, the state government said on Monday.

The state Drug Control Department officials had during an inspection found the cough syrup contained 48.6 per cent of Diethylene Glycol (DEG), a toxic substance. This medicine is linked to the death of children in Madhya Pradesh.

The officials had also found that the company lacked proper good manufacturing practices (GMP) and good laboratory practices (GLP), and they recorded over 300 critical and major violations.

The company’s owner, G Ranganathan, was recently arrested by a special investigation team from Madhya Pradesh.

Earlier in the day, a team from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided the premises of Sresan Pharmaceuticals and some officials, in a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case.

"The drug manufacturing license of Sresan Pharmaceuticals has been completely cancelled, and the company has been closed. Orders have been given to conduct a detailed inspection of other drug manufacturing companies located in Tamil Nadu," the government said in a release here.

At least 22 children from Madhya Pradesh, mostly residents of Parasia in Chhindwara district, have died so far due to suspected renal failure after consuming the banned Coldrif cough syrup.

Some other children are currently undergoing treatment at hospitals in Nagpur in Maharashtra.

Many children from Chhindwara had been rushed to hospitals in Nagpur for advanced health care, where they died of renal failure.