| Chennai – The Tamil Nadu health department on Monday announced that the license of Sresan Pharmaceutical, the manufacturer of ‘killer’ Coldrif cough syrup, has been revoked and ordered the company’s closure following deaths of 23 children in Madhya Pradesh due to contaminated syrup. The Company had over 300 violations, with syrup found adulterates with poisonous diethylene glycol. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also investigating alleged money laundering linked to the company. The state drug control department found that Sresan’s manufacturing unit lacked proper Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) which recorded over 300 critical and major violations. The syrup was found to be dangerously adulterated with diethylene glycol (DEG), a highly poisonous substance. Officers of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at seven locations in Tamil Nadu linked to Sresan Pharmaceuticals and senior Tamil Nadu FDA officials as part of a money laundering probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The raids included the premises of key employees P.U.Karthikeyan, the arrested TNFDA director-in-charge, who had been arrested previously in bribery case in July 2025. The ED alleged that profits from the sale of the adulterated syrup constitute proceeds of crime. The action follows FIR filed against Sresan in Madhya Pradesh and the Tamil Nadu bribery case. The tragic deaths, mostly of children under five, prompted swift action from Madhya Pradesh government suspending two drug inspectors and deputy director, transferring the state’s drug controller, and arrest of a doctor from Chhindwara district for negligence. The Tamil Nadu authorities also suspended two senior drug inspectors and ordered the permanent closure of the pharma company. Sresan Pharmaceutical, based in Kanchipuram and license in 2011, had reportedly operated unchecked for over a decade, despite repeated violations of national drug safety rules. The death incident of 23 children, allegedly after consuming Coldrif syrup, forced the cancellation of manufacturing license of Sresan Pharmaceuticals and complete closure of the firm. Orders have been given to conduct a detailed inspection of other drug manufacturing companies located in Tamil Nadu as well. |
Cough Syrup Death: Sresan Pharma license revoked, firm shut down
