Indian police have arrested the owner of Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer, the company whose cough syrup has been linked to the deaths of at least 17 children in Madhya Pradesh.

A senior police officer told Reuters on Thursday that the arrest followed a probe into the deaths of children — all under five years old — who had consumed the company’s cough medicine over the past month.

Preliminary tests revealed that the syrup contained dangerously high levels of diethylene glycol, a toxic chemical often used in industrial products such as antifreeze. Officials said the concentration was nearly 500 times the permissible limit, making the product lethally unsafe for consumption.

Health authorities in India have since suspended the company’s manufacturing licence and initiated a broader recall of its products. Samples have been sent for further testing to confirm contamination levels.

This is not the first time India has faced such a tragedy. In recent years, cough syrups made by Indian firms have been linked to child deaths in Gambia and Uzbekistan, prompting global scrutiny of pharmaceutical manufacturing standards in the country.

Investigations are ongoing, and officials have indicated that more arrests could follow as authorities examine supply chains and quality control failures linked to the toxic batch. (Reuters)

The post Owner of Indian Cough Syrup firm arrested after deaths of 17 children appeared first on Newswire.

India has found violations related to manufacturing and laboratory practices at drugmaker Riemann Labs, whose cough syrup was linked to the deaths of children in Cameroon, a government health official told Reuters on Wednesday.

According to Reuters, authorities have stepped up scrutiny of drugmakers after some cough syrups made in India were linked to the deaths of dozens of children overseas.

Riemann Labs did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters. It is the fourth Indian cough syrup maker to stop production after regulators found lapses.

Rajesh Bhatia, one of the three directors at Riemann Labs, had told Reuters previously he was not aware of the matter.

Regulators inspected the company’s production unit in Madhya Pradesh state and issued a notice after finding lapses, said Sudam Khade, the state’s drugs controller.

“Some violations in good manufacturing practices and good lab practices were found,” Khade said, without specifying what the violations were.

Samples of all of the company’s products had been sent for testing and further action would be decided based on the results, Khade said.

The government told parliament on Tuesday that Riemann was directed to stop manufacturing after inspections by federal and state regulators.

Riemann has been identified as the maker of Naturcold cough syrup, Khade said.

A batch of it was linked to the death of at least six children in Cameroon by authorities there. Some media, however, reported the deaths of 12 children. (NewsWire)

The post India finds ‘violations’ at cough syrup maker linked to Cameroon child deaths appeared first on Newswire.