Gambia hires U.S. law firm to consider action on toxic Indian cough syrup, Minister says

Over 70 children in Gambia died from June to October due to acute kidney injury, suspected to be caused by toxins in Indian cough syrups.

Gambia has hired a U.S. law firm to explore legal action after a government-backed investigation found that contaminated medicines from India were “very likely” to have caused the deaths of children last year, the Justice Minister told Reuters.

At least 70 children in Gambia, most under five years old, died from acute kidney injury between June and October.

Local doctors suspected cough syrups imported from India were the likely culprit, Reuters reported earlier this year, and the World Health Organization (WHO) tests confirmed the presence of lethal toxins, sparking a global hunt for contaminated medicines.

Gambian Justice Minister Dawda Jallow told Reuters legal action was one option under consideration by the government, the first sign of potential international litigation over the deaths. Mr. Jallow did not say who would be the target of potential legal proceedings or name the law firm hired to help.

The medicines linked to the children’s deaths were made by Indian drug maker Maiden Pharmaceuticals, which denied wrongdoing. Tests by the WHO found that the Maiden cough syrups contained the lethal toxins diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG), used in car brake fluid. India’s government has said its own tests on the drugs found no toxins.

India’s Health Ministry and Maiden did not respond to requests for comment on Gambia’s possible legal action. The WHO declined to comment.

Indian officials have said the WHO failed to prove a causal link to the Gambia deaths, accusing the agency of denigrating its $41 billion pharmaceutical industry. However, cough syrups made by a second Indian drugmaker have been linked to the deaths of 19 children in Uzbekistan. India has since made drug testing mandatory for cough syrups before export.