Comment by Riaz Haq on June 30, 2023 at 4:52pm

#Indian #pharma company used toxic industrial-grade ingredient in #cough syrup – #Noida #UP-based Marion Biotech linked to the deaths of 19 children due to poisoning in Uzbekistan. Marion sold the syrups without testing the ingredient used in its syrups
https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/india/india-cough-syrup-marion-u...

An Indian pharma company whose cough syrups were linked to the deaths of 19 children due to poisoning in Uzbekistan allegedly used industrial-grade ingredients, according to a report.

Reuters reported quoting sources that Marion Biotech, a company based in the township of Noida in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, bought the ingredient propylene glycol (PG) from trader Maya Chemtech India, which only sold industrial-grade materials and not pharmaceutical-grade ingredients.

Last year, India launched an investigation against Marian Biotech and suspended its license after WHO issued a global medical alert for two cough syrups produced by the company.

The firm’s Dok-1 Max and Ambronol cough syrups were linked to the deaths of 19 children in Uzbekistan last year.

A person who refused to be identified said Maya Chemtech did not have a licence to sell pharmaceutical-grade materials.

Two sources told Reuters that the syrup was made using PG which is a toxic material used in liquid detergents, antifreeze, paints or coatings, as well as pesticides.

"We did not know Marion was going to use it to make cough syrups," said the person, who declined to be identified while the case was being investigated. "We are not told where our material is used."

Another person, who is involved in the official investigation into the case, said Marion bought commercial-grade propylene glycol.

"They were supposed to take Indian Pharmacopoeia-grade," the person said referring to national standards for the composition of pharmaceutical products.


The source who is involved in the investigation told Reuters that Marion sold the syrups to a Uzbekistan company without testing the ingredient used in its syrups.

India, the world’s largest exporter of generic drugs, has come under scrutiny over the quality of the exported drugs that have been linked to deaths and hospitalisations in almost half a dozens countries.

Last week, the WHO flagged seven India-made syrups that were linked to over 300 deaths globally.

Around 20 syrups manufactured by companies in India and Indonesia were also flagged by the health agency, according to NDTV.

Marion Biotech denied allegations of wrong doing in previous statements. It previously said that it "did not agree" with the WHO’s findings and said the company was cooperating with investigation.

The WHO said that Uzbekistan’s health ministry found "unacceptable amounts" of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol in the drugs.

Apart from Uzbekistan, at least 70 children were reported dead in Gambia after consuming cough syrups made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals.

Maiden Pharmaceuticals denied the allegations in previous comments.

Comment by Riaz Haq 16 hours ago

https://x.com/roshankrraii/status/2011095403132043491?s=61


Dirty floors, dirty courts, bird excrement: Blichfeldt criticises unhygienic conditions at India Open - Sportstar

https://sportstar.thehindu.com/badminton/mia-blichfeldt-india-open-...

The India Open had been moved from the smaller-capacity KD Jadhav Indoor stadium to the far larger Indira Gandhi stadium inside the same sports complex in Delhi. Although Blichfeld praised the larger venue as more suitable for the stature of a World Tour 750 event, she felt conditions were still challenging.

A year after she had publicly criticised conditions at the India Open World Tour 750 event in New Delhi, top Denmark women’s singles player Mia Blichfeldt says that hygiene conditions at the event, being conducted at the Indira Gandhi Indoor stadium, still leave a lot to be desired.

“I think the floors are dirty. There is a lot of dirt on the courts. There’s bird excrement. There are birds flying around in the arena,” the 28-year-old ranked 20 in the world rankings said after winning her first round match against Pin-Chian Chiu of Chinese Taipei.

The event had been moved from the smaller-capacity KD Jadhav Indoor stadium to the far larger Indira Gandhi stadium inside the same sports complex in Delhi. Although Blichfeld praised the larger venue as more suitable for the stature of a World Tour 750 event, she felt conditions were still challenging.

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Manoj Arora
@manoj_216
International matches in India get delayed because of bird poop and monkeys.
Let that sink in.

A nation aspiring to be a $5 trillion economy, hosting G20 summits and launching missions to the Moon, can’t manage basic stadium hygiene and animal control. Apparently, our 'sports infrastructure' plan ends at cutting ribbons and issuing press releases.

The Sports Authority of India seems to believe that why plan, why maintain, why anticipate… when you can just look embarrassed on live international broadcast?

We boast loudly about world-class facilities, but crumble when a monkey decides the boundary rope is its personal playground.

This is sheer institutional incompetence.

Every other serious sporting nation treats stadiums like professional assets. In India, they’re treated like abandoned parks - cleaned only when a VIP is coming, ignored otherwise. Accountability is absent, ownership is missing, and consequences are nonexistent.

We talk big.
We tweet bigger.
But when it’s time to act, we fail timidly and publicly.

A country that wants global respect cannot keep offering global embarrassment.
You can’t chest-thump your way to excellence - you need execution.

Until then, congratulations:
We don’t just host international matches - we host international memes.

https://x.com/manoj_216/status/2011791656128032832?s=20

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