The Haryana-based company, whose cough syrups were implicated in the deaths of 70 children in The Gambia last year, has been convicted in another 2013 case.
The Haryana-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals, whose tainted cough syrups were blamed for the deaths of 70 children in The Gambia in October, has now been found guilty of exporting subpar medicine to Vietnam, according to a 2013 case, The Tribune reported on Saturday.
The pharmaceutical company, its Director Naresh Kumar Goyal, and its Technical Director MK Sharma were found guilty on February 22 by a district court in Sonepat, Haryana, of exporting subpar ranitidine hydrochloride tablets under the trade name BP (Mantek-150). For the treatment of heartburn, use ranitidine pills.
Both Goyal and Sharma have been sentenced to two-and-a-half years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 1 lakh each under Section 27 (d) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, The Tribune reported.
What’s the case about?
The case dates back to December 2013, when Deepak Mittal, the Indian consul general at Vietnamese capital of Ho Chin Minh City had flagged to New Delhi’s health ministry that 46 Indian companies, including Maiden Pharmaceuticals, had been blacklisted by the east Asian country for supplying substandard drugs.
In a letter, Mittal had urged the health ministry to run background checks on the 46 companies and “penalise them for bringing bad name to the Indian pharma industries abroad”, The Wire reported.
