The recent rise in fatalities related to Coldrif cough syrup has sounded big alarm bells in India. As many as 19 children have died after consuming the syrup, which is laced with diethylene glycol—an extremely hazardous industrial solvent. Further inquiries have revealed that the adulterated syrup was produced and distributed under label Coldrif. Its label — which depicted a cartoon of two children playing — was effective at grabbing consumers’ attention.
One heart-wrenching example is the case of a three year old. Their death continues to have a profound impact on the lives of their family. Soon thereafter, they buried their child’s body ⎼ burying the future that she once held. This heartbreaking incident has ignited public outrage at the dangers caused by such products. Regulatory failures and manufacturing negligence have been heavily criticized, with the CDC criminally prosecuting the manufacturer.
Investigation and Arrests
In response to the growing evidence of such contamination, authorities, in late August, arrested the owner of the facility that manufactured the Coldrif cough syrup. This experimental facility, based in Chennai, was closed shortly afterwards in order to avoid repeating such disasters. Prashant Reddy, a prominent advocate for pharmaceutical regulation, expressed concern about the state of quality control in India’s medicine production.
“In this particular case, going by the reportage in the Indian press, it’s evident that this manufacturer should have been shut down long ago; it was running out of a really ramshackle facility.” – Prashant Reddy
Reddy attributes the contamination of Coldrif to poor quality propylene glycol sources. This solvent is commonly used in pharmaceuticals manufacturing. While it is currently required by law to inspect each known manufacturing facility at least once per year, many of these companies skirt those laws, avoiding inspections altogether.
“The question is, why was this not caught earlier? The law mandates annual inspections of each facility.” – Prashant Reddy
Patterns of Negligence
The saga of Coldrif is not an unusual story. Despite lobbying efforts, over the years, several cough syrup poisonings led to hundreds of child deaths throughout India. Regulatory lapses and a failure to enforce existing safety standards have let known dangerous products get into the hands of consumers.
In neighboring Gujarat State, authorities moved quickly to recall two additional cough syrups. Respifresh TR and Relife subsequently tested positive for diethylene glycol, leading to this emergency measure. This predictable pattern should ring alarm bells over the lack of effective oversight in India’s burgeoning pharmaceutical complex.
“It is a combination of both corruption and incompetence.” – Prashant Reddy
Prashant Reddy warned that the government too often puts self-preservation, or protecting their jobs, ahead of consumer protection. He’s frustrated that new tragedies involving tainted drugs soon disappear from the front page, making it impossible to have a serious conversation about reforms to avoid such disasters.
“These days, tragedies like this in India get wiped out of the front page quite quickly, and the government doesn’t get to the root of the matter because the government’s first instinct generally is to protect itself first, and then the pharmaceutical company.” – Prashant Reddy
Calls for Accountability
The recent deaths have reverberated with anger among citizens and advocates as one. Like you, we’ve heard the outcry from journalists and commentators demanding accountability from federal and state governments as well as from pharmaceutical manufacturers themselves. Barkha Dutt, an influential journalist, wrote a beautiful essay expressing her sorrow over the familiar cycle of these kinds of tragedies.
“This should not be thought of as an accident.” – Barkha Dutt
Additionally, she noted that every bottle of cough syrup at the center of these events have been found to have toxins well above acceptable thresholds. There’s intense pressure for scalps alongside those of regulatory agencies and manufacturing firms to roll.
“All of these cough syrup bottles contain a toxin that is well beyond … the permissible level. Heads should roll.” – Barkha Dutt
Still, experts such as Reddy emphasize the need for a culture of prevention to make sure that disasters like this one never happen again. Low quality testing by medium and small pharmaceutical manufacturers is still a particularly critical issue.
“But it is very evident that a lot of pharmaceutical companies in India, especially smaller ones, aren’t conducting this testing.” – Prashant Reddy
