Indian authorities on Wednesday (October 12th) shut down the production plant of the Maiden Pharmaceuticals laboratory in northern India, under investigation after the deaths of 69 children in The Gambia, according to local media.
“
We have ordered that all drug production in this unit be stopped with immediate effect
,” Haryana state health minister Anil Vij told Indian news agency PTI on Wednesday.
A first inspection of the factory located in the town of Kundli, about 40 km from New Delhi, revealed twelve violations of the protocol, said Anil Vij.
Potentially hazardous pollutants
The WHO had issued an alert last week about four cough syrups produced by this laboratory, which could be linked to the 69 children who died of kidney failure in The Gambia.
A review of the site found "
unacceptable numbers
" of potentially dangerous pollutants, the UN agency said, adding that the drugs may have been distributed outside the West African country.
Indian Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said last week that he had been informed of the WHO's findings and was awaiting the results of the tests carried out by the laboratory on the four syrups in question.
According to him, only Gambia has received it.
Asked by AFP, the company did not respond.
For the director of Maiden Pharmaceuticals, Naresh Goyal, the syrups produced by his laboratory are not responsible for this tragedy, he told the Indian newspaper
The Economic Times
.
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The Gambia police announced on Saturday the opening of their own investigation into the deaths of the children.
Maiden Pharmaceuticals had already caught the attention of Indian regulators several times.
The Federal Agency for Food and Drug Products had notably given four opinions to the laboratory, describing its manufacture as "
poor
" after having conducted tests on batches, according to the agency's website.