The Government has suspended the export licence of Marion Biotech, the Noida-based manufacturer of  Dok-1 Max syrup that reportedly led to the death of 18  children in Uzbekistan. The Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India Limited has written to Marion Biotech that the death of children has brought bad name to the entire pharma industry and may have global repercussions as well.

PEPCIL functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and was set up under the provisions of the Foreign Trade Policy in 2004 to promote pharmaceutical exports from India.

In a letter to Sachin Jain, chairman and managing director of the company, Udaya Bhaskar, director general at Pharmexcil, said, “Alleged supply of substandard medicines by your company led to the death of 18 children brought bad reputation to the Indian pharma industry and is also likely to have an impact on the trust of international agencies on Indian pharma exports.”

The copy of the letters are also marked to drug controller general of India (DCGI) VG Somani and Manish Prabhat, Ambassador of India to Uzbekistan. Bhaskar has asked the company to inform to which other countries it has exported the syrup and other drugs.  He had also asked to furnish manufacturing licence, and product permissions to export the medicines in question.  Meanwhile, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Friday  all manufacturing activities at Marion Biotech's Noida unit have been stopped in view of reports of contamination of its cough syrup Dok-1 Max.

"Following inspection by @CDSCO_INDIA_INF team in view of reports of contamination in cough syrup Dok1 Max, all manufacturing activities of Marion Biotech at NOIDA unit have been stopped yesterday night, while further investigation is ongoing," Mandaviya said.

The company's legal representative had said on Thursday that the manufacture of Dok-1 Max has stopped "for now".

Mandaviya had said Thursday that further action would be taken based on the inspection of the pharma company.