Tamil Nadu shuts cough syrup firm linked to MP kids' deaths

The Tamil Nadu Drugs Control Department has cancelled the manufacturing licence of Sresan Pharmaceuticals and permanently closed the company after laboratory tests confirmed the presence of

diethylene glycol (DEG), a toxic substance, in its cough syrup Coldrif. 

The adulterated syrup was responsible for the death of 21 children in Madhya Pradesh. Sresan Pharmaceuticals was issued a manufacturing licence by the Tamil Nadu Government in 2011. The licence was renewed in 2016. However, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation was not kept in the loop.

"The drug manufacturing license of Sresan Pharmaceuticals has been completely cancelled, and the company has been closed. Orders have been given to conduct a detailed inspection of other drug manufacturing companies located in Tamil Nadu," the state government said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate raided the premises of Sresan Pharmaceuticals and some top drug officials in Chennai.

On October 1, the Tamil Nadu authorities received an alert from the Madhya Pradesh Drugs Control Department about the toxic syrup. Samples of five products, including Coldrif, were collected and analysed in a government laboratory in Chennai. The analysis revealed the presence of toxic DEG in the cough syrup.

The proprietor of the company, Ranganathan, was arrested by the Madhya Pradesh Police on October 9. Two senior drug inspectors from Tamil Nadu were also suspended for failing to conduct mandatory inspections in 2023.