In Indonesia, the court proved the connection between the deaths of 200 children and cough syrups, the guilty were sentenced
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In Indonesia, cough medicine has been linked to the deaths of 204 children from acute kidney failure last year.
A criminal case was opened against officials of Indonesian drug manufacturer Afi Farma and Indonesian supplier CV Samudera Chemical, which sold containers of ethylene glycol (EG), writes Reuters.
Ethylene glycol is used in the production of coolants for car engines – antifreezes.
When used, it leads to acute kidney damage.
| Photo: Maskot/gettyimages |
Unscrupulous manufacturers replaced PG (used in the pharmaceutical industry to make drugs) with EG, because it costs half as much.
The company deliberately downloaded the logo of the main supplier of propylene glycol, Dow Chemical Thailand, from the Internet and applied it to EG containers. Later sold them to CV Anugerah Perdana Gemilang distributor.
Chief Executive Officer of CV Samudera Andis assured the court that he did not know that the poisonous substance was used in the production of medicines, the company committed such a crime, “to reduce costs, as propylene glycol would be very expensive to buy and the product was difficult to source because it is imported.”.
CV Anugerah Perdana Gemilang issued ingredient analysis certificates for several batches of the counterfeit product, allowing it to be used for pharmaceutical purposes without proper testing.
The counterfeit product was passed on to ingredient supplier Afi Farma, whereupon it found its way into 70 batches of cough syrup.
As testing later showed, the cough syrups contained up to 99% EG, while the World Health Organization’s safety limit is 0.1%.
Four Afi Farma officials were convicted earlier this month.
Last month, a court sentenced Andis and his colleague, as well as two CV Anugerah Perdana Gemilang officials, to 10 years in prison for violating drug production laws.
A lawyer for Afi Farma told Reuters that the company denies intentionally supplying the drug with the deadly ingredient and has filed an appeal.
The court document cites testimony from a representative of Indonesia’s medicines regulator BPOM that the company only developed the EEG technique last October when the country was trying to determine the cause of acute kidney failure in children, which has resulted in 204 deaths.
It will be recalled that the connection between the deaths of children and medicines was first discovered in October 2022, when the WHO sent out a warning that four cough syrups produced by the Indian company Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd contained a known toxin – diethylene glycol or ethylene glycol.
Maiden has denied that its drugs caused the deaths in Gambia, and the Indian government has said that testing of the syrups found no contamination.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also concluded that cough syrups are likely to be responsible for the deaths of children in The Gambia.
Last year, Indonesia stopped selling all syrups and liquid medicines after the deaths of nearly 100 children and an unexplained spike in cases of acute kidney injury.
Read also: “What are the symptoms of pneumonia and how to prevent it? Explains the Central Health Service”
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