Highlights: Centre to force drugmakers to upgrade plants after fatal cough syrup crisis

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The central government has refused drugmakers' requests to extend a year-end deadline for them to upgrade their manufacturing facilities to international standards, four sources said, amid public anger over the recent deaths of at least 24 children who consumed locally-produced cough syrup.

 

The Centre had in late 2023 ordered pharmaceutical companies to ensure their plants meet World Health Organization-recommended standards, which would require them to invest in protocols to prevent cross-contamination and enable batch-testing of samples, among other measures. The mandate was established after India-made cough syrups were linked to the deaths of over 140 children in Africa and Central Asia, severely denting India's image as a "pharmacy of the world."

 

While major pharmaceutical companies met a June 2024 deadline, smaller firms were granted a 12-month reprieve on their separate December 2024 target. Some in India's pharmaceutical lobby have, however, been pushing for more time, warning that businesses would be forced into bankruptcy by the costs.

 

But news that Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer - which made the Coldrif syrup that was linked to the latest deaths - had not upgraded its facilities was a key factor in convincing government officials to ignore those appeals.

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