Jakarta, IO – The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) suspects two pharmaceutical companies are abusing the use of raw materials in syrup production as it investigates massive cases of acute kidney injury (AKI) in children linked to tainted cough syrups.
BPOM chief Penny Lukito revealed that her agency found a very high concentrations of ethylene glycol (EG) and diethylene glycol (DEG) substance in the syrups produced by the two companies.
“It makes us suspicious whether they do it intentionally, but this needs to be further investigated,” said Penny, reported Antara on Friday (28/10).
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Penny also said that they found indications that the use of raw materials did not meet the requirements. She stressed that EG and DEG should not be used as solvents in drugs. BPOM is expanding its investigation to find out whether the abuse happens on an industrial scale.
“Of course, this is still under investigation. When the investigation is complete, we will have a more detailed and accurate picture through all the evidence collected,” said Penny. (un)