After the Gambia, Nigeria, Liberia issue alerts over Maiden Pharma's syrups

Nigeria and Liberia have issued alerts over cough syrups manufactured by Haryana-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals following the death of 69 children in the Gambia. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), four syrups manufactured by the company have been linked with acute kidney injuries, as reported by Mint. 

Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Agency Control (NAFDAC) on Thursday issued an alert on "substandard paediatric cough syrups circulating in the Gambia", the report said. 

Liberian health minister Wilhelmina S Jallah, in a separate alert, told health teams to "further inform all health service delivery points (hospitals, health centres, clinics and community health teams)".

The syrups notified by WHO are, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Magrip N Cold Syrup, Promethazine Oral Solution, and Makoff Baby Cough Syrup. 

Also read: Haryana stops production at plant making cough syrups flagged by WHO

Nigeria has reportedly circulated the alert across all professional bodies, health care providers and supply chain associates, Mint added. 

"The stated manufacturer of the products is Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd (Haryana, India). To date, the stated manufacturer has not provided guarantees to WHO on the safety and quality of these products. All batches of these products listed above should be considered unsafe," NAFDAC said. 

Director General of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), R Uday Bhaskar, said that it could impact the image of India's pharma sector. Pharmexcil is the government agency for the promotion of pharma exports.

He further added that countries could turn cautious about buying drugs from India. India is the largest provider of generic drugs in the world.