DCGI asked to probe Ringer Lactate firm after maternal deaths

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Tuesday requested the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to investigate and take necessary action against a West Bengal-based manufacturer, amid concerns that recent maternal deaths in Ballari district, could be linked to substandard Ringer Lactate solution supplied by the company.

In a letter, Karnataka Health Principal Secretary Harsh Gupta, drew the attention of the DCGI to the supply of several batches of "Compound Sodium Lactate I P (Ringer's Lactate I P)" by the West Bengal-based pharmaceutical company Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals to the Karnataka State Medical Supplies Corporation Limited (KSMSCL) for distribution in government hospitals through District Drug Warehouses.

The letter emphasised that the manufacturer had been licensed by the Drugs Controller/Licensing Authority of West Bengal, which is approved by the DCGI.