09/10/2025

THURSDAY | OCT 9, 2025

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India flags testing lapses at pharmaceutical firms

Thai PM declares war on drugs BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has declared the suppression of narcotics a national priority, vowing to “win the war on drugs” and eradicate the menace. Anutin, who is also interior minister, said drug suppression has always been a priority for the administration and the government remains committed to continuing its crackdown. He said that the government considers drug traffickers and dealers as enemies of the state, while also working to amend relevant laws to enhance the effectiveness of enforcement. “The government is taking the issue seriously and will act as a relentless enemy of drug dealers, users and traffickers, applying equally severe punishment under the law. Anyone involved in narcotics will face strict legal consequences,” Anutin told a press conference at the Police Narcotics Suppression Bureau here yesterday. Anutin warned that any community or village that neglects the issue and becomes a hub for drug trading or storage will face stricter legal measures and heavier penalties. “The government will continue to pursue drug suppression relentlessly and without leniency to safeguard the safety of communities and maintain national order,” he said. Anutin said police carried out raids earlier this week, dismantling four major drug syndicates, arresting 10 suspects and seizing 15.78 million methamphetamine pills, 235kg of crystal methamphetamine and assets. – Bernama Dozens killed at Myanmar protest YANGON: An attack on a festival event and protest killed 40 people, including children, an attendee and a local committee member said yesterday. Hundreds of people were gathered in central Myanmar’s Chaung U township for the Thadingyut full moon festival on Monday evening when a paraglider dropped bombs on the crowd, according to a member of the committee that organised the event. The woman, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said people were gathering for the festival and a demonstration at dusk when the bombs killed more than 40 people and wounded about 80 others. “The committee alerted people and one-third of the crowd managed to flee,” she said. “But immediately, one motor-powered paraglider flew right over the crowd”, dropping two bombs. When another motorised paraglider left the area, she said people rushed to help the wounded. A resident of Chaung U who attended the event on Monday confirmed the estimated toll. A media outlet also said 40 people were killed in the attack. – AFP

By law, Indian drugmakers have to test each batch of raw material and the final product, apart from keeping records. Exports of cough syrups require another layer of tests at government mandated labs since 2023 following the deaths of at least 141 children in Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon linked to Indian syrups. Despite the stricter rules and inspections since the overseas deaths, at least 17 children under the age of five have died in India in the past month after consuming cough medicine that contained toxic diethylene glycol in quantities nearly 500 times the permissible limit, officials say. The medicine, Coldrif Syrup made by Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer, was only sold locally. Reuters could not contact Sresan chief G. Ranganathan, whose office and factory in Tamil Nadu were shut and his phone switched off. Police are investigating the

company for manslaughter, sales of the syrup have been banned, and central authorities have recommended cancelling Sresan’s manufacturing licence. The Health Ministry said on Sunday authorities were carrying out inspections across 19 other manufacturing units in six states. It did not identify the companies. “The manufacturers are not carrying out testing of each batch of the excipients/inactive and active pharmaceutical ingredients for verification of compliance with the prescribed standards before using them in the manufacture of formulations and also in the finished products,” Raghuvanshi said. Two of the inspected companies were Shape Pharma and Rednex Pharmaceuticals, based in the key pharmaceutical manufacturing hub of Gujarat. State authorities said on Tuesday that samples of cough syrups produced by the companies had

been found to be “not of standard quality”. In checks between Oct 3 and 5, state and federal inspectors identified unspecified deficiencies at the companies and ordered an immediate halt to all production and distribution. No one responded to calls made to Shape and Rednex offices. Reuters could not ascertain if the two companies had also exported medicines. State officials did not respond to requests for comment. “As a precautionary measure, three additional cough syrup samples were taken from Shape Pharma and 11 from Rednex Pharmaceuticals have been sent to government laboratories for further testing,” Gujarat Health Minister Rishikesh Patel said. “Action will be taken based on those reports.” India’s pharmaceutical industry, which is exceeded in size only by the US and China, is valued at US$50 billion (RM211 billion). – Reuters

NEW Indian pharmaceutical firms failed to follow rules that every batch of medicinal ingredients is tested, the country’s drug regulator said yesterday, after deaths in the past month of 17 children linked to toxic cough syrups. An advisory by the drugs controller general of India, Rajeev Raghuvanshi, said the regulator carried out checks at some factories and found serious lapses. In the advisory dated Oct 7, Raghuvanshi did not name any companies or the number of companies that were found to have flouted norms, but said the inspections had been carried out at firms whose drugs had earlier been found to be “not of standard quality”. o Toxic cough syrup linked to 17 deaths DELHI: Some

LOVE OFFERING ... Buddhist devotees make offerings during a parade celebrating the end of the Buddhist Lent in Thailand’s Narathiwat province. – AFPPIC

Indonesia restricts access to Cikande red zone SERANG: The Indonesian

the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency. “We will handle the red zone first, followed by the yellow zone,” he said. Nurofiq said restrictions on movement are necessary to prevent direct exposure. “We will limit people’s movement in this area,” he said. The response will focus on homes closest to the source of exposure. “We only localise those nearby. Not all of them, just a few houses that

need to be evacuated,” he said. The joint team in the field has marked the dangerous areas with barriers and prohibition lines. The minister explained that the safe radiation threshold is set at below 1 microsievert per hour. “The transmission distance will be safe when the figure reaches 1 microsievert. So, it should not exceed 1 microsievert per hour,” he said. Nurofiq said this is to ensure public safety until the

decontamination is complete. Cesium-137 exposure was reportedly found in PT BMS’s frozen shrimp products exported to the US, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan said last month that the Cesium-137 contamination in shrimp products occurred only in the Cikande Modern Industrial Estate and did not spread to the national supply chain or exports. – Bernama

government has restricted access for residents in the red zone affected by Cesium-137 radiation exposure in the Cikande industrial area, Serang District, to ensure public safety during the decontamination process, reported Antara news agency. Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq on Tuesday said this was part of zoning measures put in place by a joint team from the National Research and Innovation Agency and