Several children died due to suspected kidney failure, linked to the consumption of the ‘toxic’ Coldrif cough syrup.
G. Ranganathan, owner of Sresan Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Coldrif cough syrup, was arrested in Kodambakkam, Chennai, in connection with the deaths of at least 21 children in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday. Ranganathan, 75, will now be taken to Kancheepuram, where the company’s factory is located, for further investigation. He has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, endangering the safety of children, and adulteration of drugs.
A Chennai-based pharmaceutical entrepreneur, G. Ranganathan is the owner of Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer, the company behind the controversial Coldrif cough syrup. A graduate of Madras Medical College in pharmacy, Ranganathan’s career spans more than four decades. Ranganathan first gained recognition in the early 1980s for Pronit, a nutritional syrup widely used in Chennai, which he personally promoted to doctors, highlighting its benefits for pregnant women, TOI reported.
The state drug control department later raised concerns about certain ingredients in Pronit, but Ranganathan obtained the necessary license and continued his business operations. Over time, he expanded his portfolio to include liquid nasal products, the outlet further reported.
Medicines stored in “unhygienic conditions”
On October 7, the Sriperumbudur Drug Control Inspector had issued a show-cause notice to the pharma company asking it to explain the discrepancies in the quality and labelling of the medicine. Officials from the TN Directorate of Drugs Control inspected the manufacturing facility and found that the medicines were allegedly stored in “unhygienic conditions” on the corridors, and they noticed certain risk of contamination, he said.
The Tamil Nadu government had sealed the factory after 20 children from Madhya Pradesh died after consuming the “contaminated” cough syrup allegedly made in the unit. The government banned the cough syrup ‘Coldrif’ in the state from October 1 and ordered the removal of stocks of the medicine from the market.
Two more children from Madhya Pradesh have succumbed to kidney infections caused by the consumption of the syrup, taking the death toll to 22, an official said on Thursday.
(With agency inputs)
