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New Delhi: Cough syrup companies will have to get their products tested in designated government laboratories from June 1 before getting permission to export. The decision has been taken in view of the questions being raised on the quality of cough syrup exported by Indian firms.
The cough syrup samples will compulsorily be tested in government laboratories, said the Directorate General of Foreign Trade. Export to foreign countries will be allowed only after getting the test certificate. The samples will be tested at the Regional Drug Testing Laboratory located in several cities, the Central Drug Testing Laboratory located in Kolkata and the Central Drug Testing Laboratories. Apart from this, samples can also be tested in drug testing laboratories recognized by the state governments.
Central government designated laboratories include Pharmacopoeia Commission of India, Regional Drug Testing Laboratory (RDTL-Chandigarh), Central Drug Testing Laboratory (CDL-Kolkata), Central Drug Testing Laboratory (CDTL-Chennai Hyderabad, Mumbai), RDTL (Guwahati) and NABL . Apart from this, the recognized drug testing laboratories of the state governments can also give certificates.
To re-emphasize India’s commitment towards ensuring the quality of various pharmaceutical products exported from India, the Central Government has decided to introduce a process of pre-quality checking of cough syrup formulations being exported.
Let us tell you that for some time now the finger has been raised regarding the quality of cough syrup made in India. The whole issue began when Uzbekistan’s health ministry alleged that 18 children died in the country after allegedly consuming cough syrup manufactured by an Indian company.
These allegations were made regarding Marion Biotech’s Doc-1 Max, after which the manufacturing of this syrup was stopped. Later, the Food Safety and Drug Administration of Uttar Pradesh canceled the drug license of Noida-based Marion Biotech Pvt Ltd. 36 samples from the pharmaceutical company were sent for testing to the Regional Drug Testing Laboratory, Chandigarh. Of these, 22 samples did not meet the standards in the test. Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol were found to be high in several cough syrup samples.
