Maldives bans all Pakistani Pharmix drugs after toxin discovery

The Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) has permanently banned the import and sale of any drugs manufactured by Pakistan's Pharmix Laboratory.

Lahore-based Pharmix Laboratories temporarily banned all its drugs in the country last month after toxic chemicals were found in a liquid syrup for coughs, colds and allergic reactions in children.

The MFDA on Thursday issued a statement saying that it has permanently banned the import and sale of any drugs from Pharmix Laboratory.

The MFDA said the discovery of a toxic substance in a drug manufactured by a pharmaceutical company would raise questions about the company's safety standards and the safety of the drug.

The toxins were first found in a batch of ‘Allergo’, a cetirizine syrup manufactured and imported by Pharmix Laboratories. The syrup contained Diethylene Glycol (DEG) and Ethylene Glycol (EG), a toxic chemical used to disrupt drugs. These are banned and equally dangerous chemicals.

Since then, more than 27 Pharmix drugs tested in Maldives have been found to contain the toxins. Maldives has banned the use of all the drugs and brought the matter to the attention of Pakistani authorities and the WHO.

If a drug containing high levels of DEG/EG is used, the kidneys can be damaged within 8-24 hours and can be life-threatening. If a small amount of the toxin is used for a long time, there is a risk of kidney failure, or some organs stop working.

The identification test conducted on the drug sold in Maldives showed that it contained 0.72%. It is also an amount that will cause damage in the future if used repeatedly.