The World Health Organization (WHO) has sounded alert about two cough syrups manufactured by India's Noida-based pharmaceutical company Marion Biotech, warning they should in no case be prescribed for children.
The two syrups that triggered the alert are AMBRONOL syrup and DOK-1 Max syrup, both produced by the same company.
"This WHO Medical Product Alert referred to two substandard (contaminated) products identified in Uzbekistan and reported to WHO on December 22, 2022. Substandard medical products are products that fail to meet quality standards or specifications and are therefore out of specification," the alert says.
Both of the aforementioned remedies may have marketing authorizations in other Asian countries, and may also have been distributed through informal markets to other regions, the alert suggests.
So far, no guarantees have been provided to WHO on the safety and quality of these syrups.
The warning came weeks after Marion Biotech's DOK-1 Max syrup allegedly was behind the death of 18 children in Uzbekistan.
As per the initial report, the syrups were contaminated with ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol. Ethylene glycol, found in the botched syrups during lab tests, is toxic and banned for use in medicine.