New Delhi: Cough syrup exporters will have to get their products tested at specified government laboratories from June 1 before getting permission for outbound shipments. The direction has come after quality concerns were raised globally for cough syrups exported by Indian firms, news agency PTI reported.
“The export of cough syrup shall be permitted to be exported subject to export samples being tested and production of a certificate of analysis issued by any of the laboratories…, with effect from June 1, 2023,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification on Monday.
The specified central government labs include Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, regional drug testing lab (RDTL – Chandigarh), central drugs lab (CDL – Kolkata), central drug testing lab (CDTL – Chennai Hyderabad, Mumbai), RDTL (Guwahati)] and the NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) accredited drug testing labs of state governments.
The central government has decided to initiate a process of a pre-quality check of the cough syrup formulations being exported to re-emphasize India’s commitment towards assuring the quality of various pharmaceutical products exported from India.
The finished goods (cough syrup in this case) are to be tested at laboratories before being permitted for export,” the official said, adding that necessary steps are being taken to ensure the smooth implementation of this testing requirement, and MoHFW would partner with the state governments and the exporters to ensure smooth implementation of this notification.
In February, the Tamil Nadu-based Global Pharma Healthcare recalled its entire lot of eye drops. Before that, India-made cough syrups were allegedly linked to the deaths of 66 and 18 children in Gambia and Uzbekistan, respectively, last year.
India exported cough syrups worth USD 17.6 billion in 2022-23 as against USD 17 billion in 2021-22.
