Maiden Pharma Founder, Another Official Jailed In Decade-Old Case: Report

Months after the WHO connected their cough syrups to the deaths of children in Gambia, two pharmaceutical firm executives were sentenced to two and a half years in prison for shipping defective pharmaceuticals to Vietnam ten years ago, according to Reuters on Tuesday.

After the World Health Organization reported that four of Maiden Pharmaceuticals’ cough syrups may have killed dozens of children in the Gambia, the central government ceased production at the company in October of last year due to violations of manufacturing regulations.

The manufacturer has refuted claims that the deaths in the Gambia were caused by its medications, and examinations by a government laboratory revealed no poisons in them.

The business had been having legal issues with alleged subpar products for years.

Naresh Kumar Goel, the company’s founder, and MK Sharma, the company’s technical director, were both sentenced to prison by a court in Sonipat, Haryana, where Maiden has its primary production plant, for shipping heartburn medication that was “not of standard quality” to Vietnam.

“This court has come to the conclusion that the complainant/prosecution has duly proved the charge … beyond a shadow of reasonable doubt,” Judge Sanjeev Arya said in his ruling last week.

This week, the written verdict was made available online. They have until March 23 to appeal to a higher court, according to the court.

For exporting the drug, Ranitidine Tablets BP (Mantek-150), to Vietnam, the two were also each fined 100,000.

When called on his phone, Mr. Goel did not respond. The business declined to give Mr. Sharma’s contact information and stated that it had no immediate comment on the convictions.

The court was instructed by their attorney to take a “lenient view” of Mr. Goel and Mr. Sharma’s penalty because both were over 60 and had been the subject of legal procedures for seven years.

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