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☆ Drugmakers at fault over toxic cough syrup, Indonesia court finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-23 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters —An Indonesian court ordered two local companies to pay up to 60 million rupiah ($3,850) to each family whose children died of an acute kidney injury or were seriously injured after consuming toxic cough syrup. In late 2022, more than 20 families launched a civil suit against the agency, the health ministry, and several companies. The health ministry and the BPOM were cleared of wrongdoing. Last year, a criminal court found East Java-based drugmaker Afi Farma guilty of negligence and jailed officials for not testing the ingredients sent by its supplier. Reuters could not immediately contact CV Samudera Chemical, an Indonesian soapmaker, whose toxic ingredient made its way to Afi Farma, according to the court document of the Afi Farma criminal case in 2023.

Persons: Afi Farma, Parents, Siti Habiba, ”, Reza Wendra Prayogo Organizations: Indonesia Reuters —, Central, Afi, country’s Statistics Bureau, Reuters, EG, World Health Organization Locations: Jakarta, Indonesia, Central Jakarta, East Java, Indonesian, Gambia, Uzbekistan

The World Health Organization is working with countries to investigate the global pharmaceutical supply chain for such syrups. Andika Urrasyidin, lead police investigator of the case, told Reuters police have called in "many" BPOM officials for questioning, and the investigation is still underway. Hersadwi Rusdiyono, the director of Indonesia's national police's crimes detection unit, said BPOM officials were brought in as witnesses, but investigators are now checking if any wrongdoing was committed by drug regulators. "We asked them according to their functions, as regulators, whether they've conducted supervision and what kind of supervision," he told Reuters. Hersadwi said the probe so far has focused on staff at lower levels and not included BPOM'S chief, Penny Lukito.

Persons: Urrasyidin, Hersadwi Rusdiyono, they've, Hersadwi, Penny Lukito, Penny, BPOM, Tirta Buana Kemindo, Stanley Widianto, Miyoung Kim, Sara Ledwith, Michele Gershberg Organizations: Reuters, World Health Organization, Police, Afi, Thomson Locations: JAKARTA, Gambia, Uzbekistan, BPOM

He warned that contaminated medicines could still be found for several years, because adulterated barrels of an essential ingredient may remain in warehouses. Cough syrups and the ingredient, propylene glycol, both have shelf-lives of around two years. Unscrupulous actors sometimes substitute propylene glycol with toxic alternatives, ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol, because they are cheaper, several pharmaceutical manufacturing experts told Reuters. The WHO said it has also offered help to Liberia and Cameroon – which recently signalled that it too may have contaminated cough syrups for sale. The contaminated syrups in Liberia were made by India's Synercare Mumbai, according to the Nigerian regulator.

Persons: Rutendo Kuwana, Kuwana, –, syrups, Naresh Kumar Goyal, QP Pharmachem, India's Synercare, Synercare, It's, Jennifer Rigby, Krishna N.Das, Edward McAllister, Stanley Widianto, Sumit Khanna, Sophie Yu, Sara Ledwith, Michele Gershberg Organizations: World Health Organization, WHO, Reuters, Pharmaceutical, Marshall, Indonesian, –, PT Universal Pharmaceutical Industries, AFI, Pharmaceuticals, Marion Biotech, Maiden Pharmaceuticals, Thomson Locations: LIBERIA, CAMEROON, Liberia, Nigeria, Gambia, Uzbekistan, Micronesia, Indonesian, – Timor Leste, Cambodia, Senegal, Philippines, Cameroon, syrups, Marshall Islands, India's Synercare Mumbai, Nigerian, Liberian, India, Panama, Delhi, Dakar, Jakarta, Ahmedabad, Beijing

☆ Exclusive: WHO investigating links between cough syrup deaths, considers advice for parents
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Jennifer Rigby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The deaths of children from acute kidney injury began in July 2022 in Gambia, followed by cases in Indonesia and Uzbekistan. The WHO has said the deaths are linked to over-the-counter cough syrups the children took for common illnesses and which contained a known toxin, either diethylene glycol or ethylene glycol. The WHO, working with Indonesia’s drugs regulator, also issued an alert in October about cough syrups made by four Indonesian manufacturers and sold domestically. The manufacturers are: PT Yarindo Farmatama, PT Universal Pharmaceutical, PT Konimex, PT AFI Farma. PT Universal Pharmaceutical Industries’ lawyer, Hermansyah Hutagalung, said it had pulled from the market all cough syrups deemed dangerous.

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