Kathmandu: Nepal has blacklisted 16 Indian pharmaceutical companies. The decision comes in the wake of warnings from the World Health Organization that cough syrups have killed children in African countries. To this extent, Nepal Medicine Authority has issued a list of details of blacklisted companies. However, Divya Pharmacy, a company of famous yoga guru Baba Ramdev, has also been included in this list. It is known that this company manufactures products under the brand name Patanjali.
The names of Radiant Parenteral Limited, Mercury Laboratories Limited, Alliance Biotech, Captab Biotech, Agglomet Limited, Zee Laboratories Limited, Daffodils Pharmaceuticals Limited, Yeljual Pharmaceuticals Limited are included in the list issued by the Drug Regulatory Authority. Along with this, the names of big companies like Concept Pharmaceuticals, Anand Life Sciences Limited, IPCA Laboratories Limited, Cadila Healthcare Limited, Dial Pharmaceuticals, Aglomed Limited, Macur Laboratories Limited are also in the list. The officials claimed that the companies had failed to comply with the standards set by the World Health Organisation.
Santokesi of the Drug Regulatory Authority said that because of this the companies have been blacklisted. He said that a team of drug inspectors was sent from Nepal to inspect the manufacturing units of these pharmaceutical companies in the month of April and July, and it was found that the products of the concerned companies were not meeting the prescribed standards. Some companies claim that proper manufacturing practices are not followed. Meanwhile, there were reports that whooping cough was the cause of death of 66 children in Gambia. The World Health Organization has issued a warning on this matter.
