Chennai . Tamil Nadu Government issued order to completely shut down Coldrif cough syrup manufacturing company. Along with this, the license of Coldrif cough syrup manufacturer Shreesan Pharmaceuticals was permanently cancelled.
This decision has been taken after 48.6 percent lethal quantity of the deadly chemical ‘Diethylene Glycol’ was found in the company’s syrup. The case began on October 1, when the drug control department of Madhya Pradesh informed its Tamil Nadu counterpart that deaths of children in Chhindwara district since September 4 could be linked to ‘Coldrif Syrup’ manufactured by Shreesan Pharmaceuticals. As soon as the information was received, the Tamil Nadu Drug Control Department showed unprecedented speed and started taking immediate action. Subsequently, within half an hour of receiving the information at 4:00 pm on October 1, a team led by a senior drug inspector started inspection of the company premises. Subsequently, keeping public safety in mind, the sale of Coldrif syrup was immediately banned across Tamil Nadu.
The laboratory report on October 2 proved all apprehensions correct. The report confirmed the presence of diethylene glycol in a highly toxic and lethal quantity of 48.6 percent in Coldrif syrup. After that, as soon as the deadly chemical was confirmed, on October 3, the department issued a “stop production order” and immediately sealed the company. A show cause notice was also issued to the company as to why its license should not be cancelled. Investigation also revealed that this poisonous syrup was also distributed in Odisha and Puducherry. This information was immediately shared with the drug control authorities of these states. Considering the seriousness of the matter, criminal proceedings were initiated against the absconding owner of the company, Mr. Ranganathan. The Special Investigation Team of Madhya Pradesh with the help of Tamil Nadu Police successfully arrested the owner from Ashok Nagar, Chennai on the morning of 9 October.
Negligence in duty has also been revealed in this case. Two senior drug inspectors of Kanchipuram have been suspended for not conducting proper inspection of the company last year and departmental disciplinary action has been initiated against them. Taking a lesson from this incident, the state health department has issued orders to conduct widespread and surprise inspections in all drug manufacturing units in Tamil Nadu. A massive inspection drive is currently being conducted across the state to prevent recurrence of such tragic incidents in future.
State Health Department officials said that the manufacturing licenses of Srisan Pharmaceutical Company have been canceled and the company has been closed. The action comes after toxic contaminants, specifically diethylene glycol, were detected in their cough syrup, Coldrif. The statement said, “Tamil Nadu Drug Control Department took prompt action and inspected the factory of Sreesan Pharmaceutical Company, banned the sale of Coldrif syrup across the state and sent the samples for analysis. The analysis found 48.6 percent DAZ concentration, following which the department issued an order to stop production and initiated proceedings to cancel the license of the company.”