It is the stuff of parental nightmares. Between July and October 70 children in Gambia died of kidney failure. In December 18 perished in Uzbekistan from renal problems and acute respiratory disease. In both cases Indian-made cough syrups may have been at fault, according to allegations by a Gambian parliamentary committee and the Uzbek authorities.
The manufacturer in the Uzbek case, Marion Biotech, has been suspended from Pharmexcil, an Indian government-linked trade group that plays a role in pharmaceutical exports; the firm’s website appears to be down. An executive for Maiden Pharma, which produced the medicine used in Gambia, told an Indian newspaper that the company was shocked and saddened by the deaths. The firm posted a report on its Facebook page claiming that a government drug-testing lab in India had found its syrup to be problem-free; unpersuaded Gambian parliamentarians recommended that Maiden should be prosecuted. Neither firm responded to The Economist’s requests for comment.