AKIPRESS.COM - India will make tests mandatory for cough syrups before they are exported, after Indian-made cough syrups were linked to the deaths of dozens of children, Reuters reported.

Any cough syrup must have a certificate of analysis issued by a government laboratory before it is exported, effective June 1, the government said in a notice dated May 22 and shared by the health ministry on Tuesday.

The notice identified seven federal government laboratories where samples could be sent for testing, in addition to other state laboratories certified by a national accreditation body.

India's $41 billion pharmaceutical industry is one of the biggest in the world but its reputation was shaken after the World Health Organization (WHO) found toxins in cough syrups made by three Indian companies.

Syrups made by two of these companies were linked to the deaths of 70 children in Gambia and 19 in Uzbekistan in 2022.

Indian tests of cough syrups made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd, linked to the deaths of children in Gambia, found no toxins but contaminants were detected in many drugs made by Marion Biotech, whose syrups were linked to deaths in Uzbekistan.