Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on June 20 asserted that India will never compromise on the quality of medicines and that we are always alert to ensure no one dies of spurious drugs.He added, “There is zero tolerance on spurious medicines and extensive risk-based analysis being done to ensure the quality of medicines,”
His comments against the backdrop of The World Health Organization (WHO) which had flagged the issue of contaminated cough syrup made by an Indian company. According to the latest warning issued by the WHO, contaminated syrups were found in the Marshall Islands and Micronesia– a country spread across the western Pacific Ocean comprising more than 600 islands.
The substandard syrup – Guaifenesin Syrup TG Syrup – was reported to WHO on April 6.
Notably, Guaifenesin is an expectorant used to relieve chest congestion and the symptoms of cough. The WHO said that the samples of the syrup from the Marshall Islands were analysed by quality control laboratories of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) of Australia and that it was substandard.