GENEVA – The World Health Organization warned drugmakers on Monday about five batches produced by Dow Chemical’s Asia division that were suspected of being contaminated with propylene glycol as an ingredient in medicinal syrups used in pharmaceutical syrups. Europe.
The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has issued three warnings between January and March about high levels of ethylene glycol (EG), which is known to be toxic, in drums manufactured by Dow Chemical’s subsidiaries in Thailand, Germany and Singapore. .
According to WHO data, EG contamination in the sample ranges from 0.76 to 100 percent.
International manufacturing standards state that only an EG content of less than 0.1 pc can be considered safe.
Contaminated cough syrups produced in India and Indonesia have been linked to more than 300 child deaths worldwide since the end of 2022. The pharmaceuticals contain high levels of EG and diethylene glycol, which cause acute kidney injury and death. In the Indonesian case, authorities found that a supplier placed a fake Dow Thailand label on drums containing EG that were sold to distributors to produce the drug.
The World Health Organization has identified several seized batches of DRAP produced in 2023, months after the agency issued a global warning urging drugmakers to check the quality of their suppliers.
The World Health Organization confirmed that the ingredients identified in Dove’s Monday warning and found by DRAP were not manufactured or supplied by the company.
“The propylene glycol ingredient identified in this alert is considered intentional and falsified,” the World Health Organization said.
A batch of Johnson & Johnson children’s cough syrup was recalled in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, after a World Health Organization warning came this week, after regulators in Tanzania and Rwanda joined Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa in saying it had found high levels. of ethylene glycol in industrial solution known to be toxic join.
A batch of the recalled Benylin baby syrup was produced by J&J in South Africa in May 2021, although Kenwue owns the brand after it was spun off from J&J last year.
