TOKYO – A major Japanese drugmaker on March 26 said it was investigating one death from kidney dysfunction potentially linked to health supplements recalled last week by the firm.
It comes a day after the drugmaker, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, said it was aware of 26 cases of people being hospitalised in relation to the prescription-free supplements.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, which sells over-the-counter drugs and dietary supplements, has received an additional 50 unconfirmed reports of hospitalisations as of March 26, a spokeswoman told AFP.
The three recalled products – “beni koji choleste help” and two similarly named supplements – contain an ingredient called “beni koji”, made by fermenting rice with yeast, which is supposed to lower levels of bad cholesterol.
The person who died had regularly purchased one of the recently recalled products over the course of nearly three years, the Osaka-based drugmaker said.
“We’re now aware of one instance where there is a potential causal link between a death and our product,” Kobayashi Pharmaceutical said in a statement.
“We are currently investigating the link, and what happened,” it said, offering its “deepest apologies”.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical says it has also supplied red yeast rice to around 50 other firms in Japan and two in Taiwan.
Health Minister Keizo Takemi told reporters that the ministry “will cooperate with Osaka city to investigate the cause... and prevent further health-related damage”.
The Osaka-based drugmaker voluntarily recalled the three products on March 22 following customer complaints about kidney problems.
It said on March 25 that it had not reached a conclusion on a link between the health problems and its supplements, but said analysis had found a possibility that the beni koji contained “ingredients we had not intended to include”.
Its analysis did not find any citrinin produced by red yeast rice, which is toxic and can damage the kidneys.
Japanese media reports said Kobayashi executives would visit the victim’s family on March 26. AFP
