The Tamil Nadu government on Monday announced the complete revocation of the manufacturing licence of Sresan Pharmaceuticals, the Kanchipuram-based company responsible for producing the adulterated cough syrup Coldrif, and ordered the company to shut down.
“The drug manufacturing license of Sresan Pharmaceuticals has been completely cancelled, and the company has been closed. Orders have been given to conduct a detailed inspection of other drug manufacturing companies located in Tamil Nadu,” the government said in a statement.
The action follows the discovery of dangerously high levels of diethylene glycol (DEG), a toxic substance, in Coldrif during inspections by the state Drug Control Department.
The syrup has been linked to the deaths of at least 22 children, mostly under five, in Madhya Pradesh due to suspected kidney failure.
Officials also recorded over 300 critical and major violations, noting the company’s failure to follow proper Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP).
The owner of Sresan Pharmaceuticals, G Ranganathan, was arrested by a special investigation team from Madhya Pradesh on October 9.
Meanwhile, a team from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided several premises connected to the company as part of a probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
“The profits derived from the sale of the ‘adulterated’ cough syrup are proceeds of crime under the PMLA and the agency is looking to gather evidence to prove this,” ED sources said.
The raids covered at least seven locations in Chennai, including the residences of key employees of Sresan Pharmaceuticals and P.U. Karthikeyan, the arrested director in-charge of the Tamil Nadu Food and Drug Administration (TNFDA).
Karthikeyan was previously arrested by the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in a bribery case in July.
Licensed in 2011, Sresan Pharmaceuticals continued operations for over a decade despite multiple violations of national drug safety rules, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) noted. Following the deaths in Madhya Pradesh, the state government suspended two drug inspectors and a deputy director of the FDA, transferred the state’s drug controller, and arrested a doctor from Chhindwara district for alleged negligence. Tamil Nadu authorities also suspended two senior state drug inspectors in connection with the case.