India probes cough syrup blamed for Uzbek child deaths

Police is seen at the gate of an office of Marion Biotech, a healthcare and pharmaceutical company and a part of the Emenox Group, whose cough syrup has been linked to the deaths of children in Uzbekistan, in Noida, India, December 29, 2022. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

NEW DELHI (AFP): Indian authorities on Thursday (Dec 29) halted production at a pharmaceutical company under investigation for a cough syrup blamed by Uzbekistan health officials for the deaths of at least 18 children.

Marion Biotech is the second local drugmaker to face a probe by regulators since October, when the World Health Organization linked another firm's medicines to a spate of child deaths in Africa.