Noida: The Center on Saturday recommended cancellation of the manufacturing license of Noida-based pharmaceutical firm Marion Biotech to the State Drug Controller Authority after 22 out of 36 samples taken for testing were found to be adulterated with ethylene glycol, news agency ANI reported. Did. Marion Biotech came under scrutiny in December last year for its cough syrup Dok-1, which is suspected to have killed 18 children in Uzbekistan after consuming it, prompting the CDSCO to probe the matter. It was Earlier on Friday, the Noida police had arrested three employees of the pharma company on charges of manufacturing and selling adulterated medicines.
The arrests were made after the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) lodged an FIR late on Thursday night against five officials, including two directors, of Marion Biotech on the complaint of a drug inspector. Police said the director is absconding and raids are on to nab him.
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According to the complainant drug inspector, the drug authorities of Madhya and Uttar Pradesh examined samples of Marion Biotech products and found 22 of them “not of standard quality” (adulterated and spurious).
Uzbekistan cough syrup substance | Center recommends cancellation of manufacturing license to State Drug Controller Authority after 22 out of 36 samples taken for testing from Marion Biotech were found to be adulterated with Ethylene Glycol: Gautam Budh Nagar Drug Inspector, UP pic.twitter.com/A0noSUnwRF– ANI (@ANI) March 4, 2023
In the wake of the controversy, the firm’s production license was suspended in January following an on-site inspection by the central and state drug authorities.
On January 12, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a ‘medical product alert’ referring to two substandard (contaminated) products that had been identified in Uzbekistan and reported on December 22, 2022.
“The two products are AMBRONOL Syrup and DOK-1 Max Syrup. The declared manufacturer of both the products is MARION BIOTECH PVT. LTD, (Uttar Pradesh, India). Till date, the said manufacturer has not provided guarantee to WHO on the safety and quality of,” WHO said then.
“Laboratory analysis of samples of both products, carried out by the National Quality Control Laboratories of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan, found that both products are contaminated with unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and/or ethylene glycol,” it had noted.