Cough syrup deaths: Sresan Pharmaceuticals’ licence cancelled, company shut down; ED raids 7 Chennai locations

Dubai: Tamil Nadu’s Drugs Control Department on Monday cancelled the manufacturing license of Sresan Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Coldrif cough syrup, after it was linked to the deaths of at least 22 people in Madhya Pradesh and several others in Rajasthan.

The company has been officially shut down following investigations that detected diethylene glycol (DEG) — a highly toxic industrial chemical — in the syrup samples.

Authorities said large-scale inspections are under way across all pharmaceutical manufacturing units in Tamil Nadu to identify potential violations.

Two senior drug inspectors have been suspended for dereliction of duty, while the company’s owner, G. Ranganathan (75), remains in police custody after his arrest on October 9 in Chennai by a Madhya Pradesh SIT.

The Tamil Nadu government has ordered state-wide inspections of all pharma firms, while the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has instructed all States and Union Territories to ensure strict compliance with the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, mandating testing of both raw materials and finished formulations.

BJP state president K. Annamalai slammed the DMK government, accusing it of creating an “illusion” of accountability by suspending only two officials. “A drug manufactured in Kanchipuram caused the deaths of 23 people in Madhya Pradesh and three children in Rajasthan, yet the state government is trying to evade responsibility,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday conducted searches at seven locations across Chennai, including Ranganathan’s residence in Kodambakkam and offices of senior Drug Control officials, as part of a money-laundering probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

According to ED sources, raids were also carried out at Sresan Pharma’s Kancheepuram plant, where investigators found over 300 safety and regulatory violations, including the use of non-pharmaceutical-grade chemicals. Lab tests confirmed that Coldrif syrup contained 48.6 per cent DEG, a solvent known to cause irreversible kidney failure.

Officials suspect the company used substandard ingredients to cut costs, and are examining possible financial irregularities, fund diversion, and collusion with regulatory authorities. The ED is also probing whether illegal proceeds were laundered through shell firms and benami accounts linked to Ranganathan’s network.

This is the third major ED action against Chennai-based pharma companies in recent months — following raids on Arvind Remedies Ltd over a ₹637-crore bank loan fraud and searches in April 2024 tied to the Jaffer Sadiq drug-trafficking case.

With the CBI already probing the Karur stampede tragedy and now the ED tightening its investigation into the Coldrif case, Tamil Nadu’s regulatory oversight has come under renewed national scrutiny.

-- With IANS inputs