India Pharma Outlook Team | Wednesday, 08 October 2025
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), it is expected that a Global Medical Products Emergency Alert regarding Coldrif will be issued only after verification from Indian officials.
WHO made known that it has requested the Indian government for formal confirmation about the shipment of Coldrif syrup, a medicine utilized in treating a cough, which has resulted in the deaths of not less than 16 children in Madhya Pradesh.
The issue of the scandal is Sresan Pharma, the company that makes Coldrif syrup. The cough syrup's sale and distribution have been banned in various Indian states such as Punjab, Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu.
The research in the laboratory in Tamil Nadu exposed that the content of Coldrif was 48.6% diethylene glycol (DEG), which is a toxic industrial solvent used as a standard in brake fluids and antifreeze. The allowed content of DEG in medicinal syrups is 0.1%. The Health Ministry confirmed that the samples from the manufacturing unit in Tamil Nadu tested positive for this toxic substance.
The authorities have initiated legal proceedings for the commission of the grave offences against Sresan Pharma. The charges include culpable homicide not amounting to murder, drug adulteration, and infringements of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
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The policeman who arrested the doctor that gave the prescription of the syrup has also been in the same way. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has called for the revocation of the company’s manufacturing license, and has accordingly taken regulatory action against the facility involved.
The Union Health Ministry has promulgated an advisory that calls for the rational use of cough syrups for children and stressed that the practice of prescribing and dispensing strictly should be done as most childhood coughs are self-limiting without medication.
