Exporters’ body Pharmexcil (Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India) suspended the membership of Maiden Pharmaceuticals, the Delhi-based drugmaker facing a probe after the World Health Organization (WHO) red-flagged four products following the death of 66 children in the West African country The Gambia.
Key points
- As the Pharmexcil did not receive any input/report on the adverse events, from the firm, the membership of Maiden Pharmaceuticals was suspended with immediate effect.
- This means the firm will not be entitled to incentives available under the Centre’s Market Access initiative Scheme.
- Under the scheme, incentives up to Rs. 2 crore are extended to a company registering its product with a drug/health regulator abroad.
- Another benefit that will not be available is a Rs. 25-lakh one-time grant to MSMEs for implementing the pharmaceutical drug track-and-trace system.
- Going forward, Pharmexcil may also recommend to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade to withdraw the import export code (IEC) of the company, thus making it ineligible to export.
- Pharmexcil , under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, had also advised the firm to investigate reasons for the serious adverse events and update with findings.
