India makes lab tests mandatory for cough syrup export
Amid global concerns over the quality of cough syrup supplied by India, New Delhi has issued a notification detailing the guidelines for exporting such syrups.
The guidelines stipulated that exporters must test their products at specified government laboratories from June 1 before applying for permission to export, reports our New Delhi correspondent.
"The export of cough syrup shall be permitted subject to export samples being tested and a certificate of analysis issued by (specific) laboratories ... with effect from June 1, 2023," the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification.
In February, the Tamil Nadu-based Global Pharma Healthcare recalled its entire lot of eye drops. India-made cough syrups were allegedly linked to the deaths of 66 and 18 children in the Gambia and Uzbekistan respectively, last year.
India exported cough syrups worth $17.6 billion in 2022-23 and $17 billion in 2021-22.
The Indian pharmaceutical industry is a leading manufacturer and supplier of medical products to highly developed countries as well as low and middle-income countries.
India is the largest provider of generic drugs globally, meeting more than half the demand worldwide for various vaccines, about 40 percent of generic demand in the US and about 25 percent of all medicine in the UK.
Globally, India ranks third in terms of pharmaceutical production by volume and 14th by value.
The industry includes a network of 3,000 drug companies and about 10,500 manufacturing units.
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