India probes ‘cough syrup’

New Delhi: Indian authorities on Thursday halted production at a pharmaceutical company under investigation for a cough syrup blamed by Uzbekistan health officials for the deaths of at least 18 children. Marion Biotech is the second local drugmaker to face a probe by regulators since October, when the World Health Organisation linked another firm´s medicines to a spate of child deaths in Africa. Health minister Mansukh Madaviya said investigators had spoken to their counterparts in Uzbekistan and were inspecting the company´s facility near the capital New Delhi.