Deadly Indonesian cough syrup was almost pure toxin, court papers show

An Indonesian drugmaker whose cough syrup is among products linked to the deaths of more than 200 children last year used ingredients with toxin concentrations of up to 99% in 70 batches of medicine, prosecutors said in a court filing.
The accusations against drugmaker Afi Farma were made in a court in Kediri, in the province of East Java, where the company is based, and Reuters is the first to report the charge that it used highly toxic ingredients.
The criminal case comes as efforts grow worldwide to tighten oversight of drug supply chains after a wave of poisonings linked to contaminated cough syrups that killed dozens more children in countries such as Gambia and Uzbekistan.
Two batches of propylene glycol, a key base for syrupy medicines that Afi Farma received from October 2021 to February 2022 and used in its cough medicine, contained instead as much as 96% to 99% of a toxic substance, ethylene glycol (EG), a charge sheet in the case showed, in an undated court filing.