Japanese authorities are investigating 76 deaths that may be linked to a cholesterol-lowering dietary supplement produced by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical that was recalled in March, the government said this Friday.
The company has confirmed five deaths attributed to the product, but is working with health authorities to investigate more than 70 new cases.
The health ministry said it had received about 170 reports from family members of people allegedly affected by the defective product – tablets containing red yeast rice and sold as a cholesterol-lowering supplement.
Based on the reports, doctors were able to identify 76 deaths that could have been caused by the consumption of the product, Health Minister Keizo Takemi said at a press conference this Friday, as quoted by the Spanish agency EFE.
The minister found it “extremely regrettable” that the Osaka, western Japan-based company had not provided more immediate reports of casualties and the results of medical investigations.
The causes of the 76 deaths “have not yet been confirmed by doctors,” so it is possible that the final number will decrease, a Health Ministry spokesman told the French news agency AFP.
In his statement, Kobayashi acknowledged that it had become clear that in some cases the consumption of the products in question had indirectly caused harmful effects on the health of certain people.
The products often created comorbid situations, worsening the health of people who already suffered from other diseases.
The link between the products and health problems was made by doctors, who in January began reporting to Kobayashi the first cases of kidney dysfunction and other pathologies in patients taking the supplements.
In March, Japanese authorities confirmed a recall of about 4,350 packages of three products sold as Kobayashi’s dietary supplements.
The products in question contained red yeast rice (benikoji in Japanese), a type of rice that turns a reddish color when fermented.
The yeast in question has been used for centuries in East Asia in foods, alcoholic beverages and traditional Chinese medicine for its digestive and circulation-stimulating properties.
Yeast contains the natural statin monacolin K, which can inhibit cholesterol synthesis.
A government investigation found that the kidney damage was caused by contamination with puberulic acid, an antibacterial and antimalarial that can be derived from blue mold and can be toxic.
Authorities suspect it may have entered the product during cultivation after health inspectors found blue mold in growing chambers and tanks at two of the pharmaceutical company’s plants.
In addition to the products it sells directly, Kobayashi sold red yeast rice to 52 other domestic and foreign companies, which were also asked to recall the products.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical’s share price fell 7% this Friday in trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Since the beginning of the year, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical shares have fallen by 22% due to the scandal.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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