Adulterated cough syrup makers of Kala Amb on the run

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, March 5

Three partners of the Kala Amb-based Digital Vision pharmaceutical unit, who have been booked for manufacturing spurious drugs after its Coldbest-PC syrup claimed the lives of some infants in Jammu and Kashmir, are on the run.

A special investigation team (SIT), headed by DSP Nahan, is probing the case and various aspects, involving the presence of the contentious diethylene glycol (DEG) in the cough syrup, are being probed.

The case has exposed the lax drug regulatory mechanism as well as the laxity of the firm management in adopting the quality procedures to ensure the quality drug manufacturing. The use of adulterated ingredient in the cough syrup points to the fact that the unit staff did not adopt any quality parameter.

As per laid down norms, a manufacturer is supposed to test the quality of raw material used in the drugs at the pre-manufacturing stage and only after it is found fit, it is supposed to be further used for drug.

Another test is undertaken by the quality control team after a drug is manufactured and this further ensures that the manufactured drug is of optimum quality.

While both procedures were clearly ignored, the lax attitude of the drug regulatory authorities in ensuring the quality drug manufacturing has been exposed in this case which took the toll of 12 infants in Ramnagar area of Jammu and Kashmir.

It was yet to be ascertained whether the unit had a well-equipped lab to test DEG and other such raw materials as such equipment were costly and whether genuine test reports of other labs were enclosed with the drug batches.

Seven drugs, manufactured by Digital Vision in the past, have figured in the list of substandard drugs issued by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation.

Assistant Drug Controller Sunny Kaushal said whenever cases of substandard drugs came to the fore, they undertake inspection of the units to detect laxities and further action was undertaken as per the findings. He said meetings were being held with the manufacturers to sort out quality issues to ensure that such incidences were not repeated.