Cough syrup deaths: TN forms special teams to monitor drug firms

Tamil Nadu minister for Health and Family Welfare, Ma Subramanian, said that the government has been inspecting all the pharmaceutical firms following the deaths of about 25 infants in Madhya Pradesh. The minister was responding to a special calling attention motion on Friday (October 17), moved by AIADMK Deputy Floor Leader R B Udhayakumar, Congress MLA Aassan Maulaana, among others.

He said that the state government had formed special teams to continuously monitor drug manufacturing units, weeks after children died from consuming cough syrup, Coldrif. After children's deaths were reported in Madhya Pradesh, the government conducted inspections at nearly 50 of the total 397 pharmaceutical firms in the state and planned to intensify the inspections in the following days, he said. "Steps are being taken to conduct similar inspections in 52 companies in the coming days," he added.

He also listed the actions taken so far after the drug department of Madhya Pradesh alerted Tamil Nadu on October 1, including the arrest of the proprietor of the drug company. He blamed the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, which falls under the Ministry of Health, for not initiating any inspections of factories in the state since 2011.

Also Read: TN government cancels Sresan Pharma licence over toxic 'Coldrif' cough syrup

Blame games at the house

In the house, Subramanian alleged that the Madhya Pradesh government had carelessly handled the issue and failed to alert the Union Government and the Union Health Ministry to impose an immediate ban on Sresan Pharmaceuticals, which manufactured the fatal cough syrup Coldrif.

Subramanian said MP's drug department emailed its counterpart in Tamil Nadu on October 1, informing them about the death of an infant linked to the cough syrup produced by a TN-based firm, instead of communicating with the Union Health Ministry.

"Nearly 25 days after the incident, they sent an email on October 1. However, considering the gravity of the issue, steps were taken," he said, adding that the Tamil Nadu government had conducted an inspection at the Sresan Pharmaceuticals' manufacturing unit at Sungavarchatiram near Sriperumbudur upon receiving the email.

He also said that the sale of the cough syrup Coldrif was banned immediately, and a detailed report, including the 'Stop Production' order, was sent to the Drugs Controller General of India and the South Zone's Deputy Drug Controller.

Though it is the responsibility of the Madhya Pradesh government and the Union Health Ministry, the Tamil Nadu government alerted other states, including Odisha and Puducherry, as the company had supplied the cough syrups to the two States, he further noted.

Also Read: Cough syrup deaths: ED raids 5 sites in Chennai, targets Sresan owner, officials

Fast-paced actions

Subramanian informed the house that a notice had been issued to the firm asking why its drug manufacturing license should not be cancelled. According to him, within 48 hours of receiving the information from the Madhya Pradesh government, the Tamil Nadu government had taken these actions.

"As the test on samples conducted by the State Drug department detected that the cough syrup contained 48.6 per cent of Diethylene Glycol (DEG), a toxic substance, the manufacturing license of Sresan Pharmaceuticals has completely been revoked." he said.

He also noted that the government had initiated criminal proceedings against the pharmaceutical company and its top management team. On October 9, a Special Investigation Team (SIT), along with the Tamil Nadu police, arrested 75-year-old Ranganathan, the proprietor of the company.

Also Read: Tamil Nadu pharma owner remanded in MP over deaths linked to toxic cough syrup

Lacking monitoring routines

Subramanian noted that the regular inspections were conducted by the drug department in 2021 and 2022 at Sresan Pharmaceuticals, but lack of an inspection in 2024 led to the suspension of the senior drug inspector of Kancheepuram zone. The Minister highlighted that the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (under the Ministry of Health) is required to undertake joint inspection with the state government every three years, but no such inspection has been carried out at the factory since 2011.

Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said the pharmaceutical company involved in the recent controversy committed multiple "irregularities" between 2019 and 2023, and the Tamil Nadu government should have been more vigilant.

"Today, because of the government's negligence, 25 precious lives were lost," he told reporters outside the Secretariat, citing media reports quoting Madhya Pradesh Minister Narendra Sivaji Patel, who blamed the Tamil Nadu government for the incident due to its 'negligence'. He also sought to know why no inspection was conducted in 2024.

(With Agency inputs)