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"Its permission to make products using propylene glycol (PG) is cancelled, and it is allowed to make and sell all other products." The Marion factory in Uttar Pradesh was closed in March, after an analysis last year by Uzbekistan's health ministry of two cough syrups made by Marion, Ambronol and DOK-1 Max. India's pharmaceuticals department told parliament that tests had also shown that a sample of propylene glycol (PG), an ingredient of cough syrups taken from Marion's factory contained EG. Reuters has reported that DEG and EG have been used by unscrupulous actors as a substitute for propylene glycol because they are cheaper. Uzbek state prosecutors told a court in Tashkent that distributors of the contaminated Marion syrups paid officials a bribe of $33,000 to skip mandatory testing there.

Persons: Anushree, Shashi Mohan Gupta, Gupta, Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Marion, syrups, Marion syrups, Krishna N, Saurabh Sharma, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Marion Biotech, Emenox, REUTERS, Reuters, World Health Organization, WHO, EG, Thomson Locations: Uzbekistan, Noida, India, DELHI, Uttar Pradesh, Gambia, Cameroon, Marion, Ambronol, Tashkent

The new rule highlights how governments are reassessing their reliance on India's $42 billion pharmaceutical industry since the contamination came to light last year. India's industry supplies nearly half of the pharmaceuticals used in Africa. In April, India’s government said its officials had held meetings in Africa to ensure its drug exports did not suffer after at least 70 children died in Gambia after ingesting the cough syrup last year. "Quntrol shall conduct document verification, physical inspection of the consignment and sampling, for laboratory testing for each shipment," the letter said. Since June 1, India has made tests mandatory for all cough syrups before they are exported.

Persons: India’s, Janneh Kaira, Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Raghuvanshi, Krishna N, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Reuters, Medicines Control Agency, MCA, Quntrol Laboratories, Bank, World Health Organization, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Gambia, India, Africa, Mumbai

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and federal and state regulators attended the session in February, according to a statement from the health ministry that did not mention cough syrups. A source with knowledge of the matter said the policy change could mean increased oversight of India's $41 billion pharmaceutical industry, which is the world's largest supplier of generic medicines. Increased testing of cough syrups as well as of raw materials for drugs in general is one of the steps being considered, said the source. India has acted against a second Indian company whose cough syrups were linked to the deaths of 19 kids in Uzbekistan, including the arrest of three of its employees. Indian health officials have expressed concern that the incidents of contaminated syrups will harm its pharmaceutical industry.

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