By Saurabh Sharma and Arpan Chaturvedi
GHAZIABAD, India, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Indian drugmaker Abbott Healthcare’s supply chain is being scrutinised as part of a wider investigation into the alleged misuse of its codeine-based cough syrup which is prone to abuse by addicts, documents show.
Abbott’s Phensedyl contains codeine, which is a narcotic used in cough suppressants that are also abused by addicts, including in neighbouring Bangladesh, where it is banned but has historically been smuggled from India. Abbott Healthcare, a unit of U.S.-based Abbott Laboratories, discontinued its manufacturing of Phensedyl in December 2024, but the drug remains in its supply chain.
An Uttar Pradesh state government document, seen by Reuters, says that 22 million bottles of Phensedyl, worth $55 million, were supplied between April 2024 and March 2025 to wholesalers and other vendors in the state and that it continues to be sold.
Based on a tipoff, police carried out raids on the night of November 4 last year at a warehouse in the city of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, where individuals were seen moving drugs between two trucks. Police recovered 30,000 bottles of Phensedyl found in rice sacks in the trucks, and alleged they were being illegally diverted, according to documents and police officials.
It is not known who owns the warehouse but it is not related to Abbott.
ABBOTT PLANT VISIT, RECORDS OBTAINED
The investigation, which extends to several other Indian makers of cough syrups, has found that the quantity of addictive cough syrups including Phensedyl being sold in Uttar Pradesh “was much more than actual consumption”, suggesting the drug is being diverted for illegal use.
“This clearly shows”, the document said, that drugs like Phensedyl were “not being used for therapeutic use and were instead being diverted for abuse via a parallel supply chain.”
Abbott Healthcare is not named as an accused in the case, but on January 14 officials of the drug department of Uttar Pradesh visited the company’s plant in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh seeking information.
“Records relating to the manufacture and distribution of codeine-based cough syrup were obtained,” according to the state government document detailing the probe, seen by Reuters.
An Abbott spokesperson said it “cooperated with the inspection and provided all the information requested” during the January 14 factory visit.
“Abbott does not condone any misuse, including diversion, of medicines,” the company said, adding that it took several steps over years to prevent the misuse of Phensedyl, including eliminating sales incentives for trade.
However, as “misuse and diversion persisted”, Abbott said it ceased manufacturing and selling codeine-based Phensedyl in December 2024.
CODEINE ABUSE
Last year, local media reported that India’s Border Security Force seized 62,000 Phensedyl bottles near the Bangladesh border.
The Indian government said in 2024 that codeine-based cough syrups remain “a major abuse concern” with the eastern states of West Bengal, Assam and Bihar being high-risk states “traditionally affected by codeine abuse.”
Excessive use of codeine-based cough syrups can also cause sedation and behavioural changes, according to doctors.
After the raid on November 4, 11 individuals were arrested and the investigation is ongoing, Kartar Singh, an investigating officer of Ghaziabad police, told Reuters.
(Additional reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Aditya Kalra and Susan Fenton)
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