Indian pharma company bribes Uzbek officials to approve killer cough syrup
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan – The Central Asian country of Uzbekistan has said that its officials were bribed to approve a tainted Indian cough syrup.
The contaminated syrup is believed to have killed 65 children in Uzbekistan.
The cough syrup was manufactured by the Indian company Marion Biotech and sold by Quramax Medical.
The CEO of Quramax Medical, Singh Raghvendra Pratar, is accused of paying Uzbek officials $33,000 in bribes.
These officials from the state-run Center for Expertise and Standardization of Medicines were paid for not conducting mandatory tests of the cough syrup.
Pratar has denied the allegations, claiming the funds were a “token of appreciation.”
An Uzbek government spokesman said 21 people had been tried in connection with the deaths and seven of them had pleaded guilty.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a warning against medical products linked to contaminated Indian cough syrup.
It noted that the syrup contained unacceptable levels of diethylene glycol and/or ethylene glycol, which are toxic and potentially lethal to humans.
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