Concerned over reports of fatalities in Indonesia due to cough syrup usage, Pakistan’s Drug Regulatory Authority (DRAP) has ordered all pharmaceutical businesses to test syrups and medications for contaminants.
At the moment, there is no law in Pakistan that requires testing for contaminants in raw resources and final pharmaceutical goods.
According to DRAP, such analysis will minimize the use of tainted solvents in the production process.
The authority urged companies to test solvents used in oral preparations, such as glycerine, propylene glycol, and sorbitol, for the presence of contaminants such as diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG).
Several pharmaceutical firms and their associates have expressed a lack of research laboratories to screen contaminants at the moment and have requested time to create the necessary testing capacity.
DRAP alerted enterprises that the Central Drug Laboratory (CDL) in Karachi has the capability of analyzing contaminants and advised them to get their raw materials checked at CDL.
Furthermore, federal drug inspectors have been instructed to perform risk-based monitoring of the solvents in syrups.
It is worth noting that a popular cough medication was pulled from the shelves a few years ago due to DRAP recommendations. The firm had announced that it was voluntarily recalling all volumes of the syrup, and the decision was made in accordance with the company’s commitment to consumer health and ethical procedures.
It should be mentioned that the World Health Organization (WHO) previously issued a global notice about four cough syrups, warning that they might be related to children’s deaths.
These are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup, and Magrip N Cold Syrup.
Via Dawn
Central Drug Laboratory (CDL) in Karachi? O really…. Karachi…..where wine is tested and declared as honey?