Japanese drugmaker suspected of causing 100 deaths, chairman and president resign

According to CCTV news, on the morning of July 23 local time, Japan Kobayashi Pharmaceutical held an interim board meeting.

By Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's red yeast rice ingredient incident, the chairman Kazumasa Kobayashi and President Akihiro Kobayashi resigned from their duties. Executive Director Satoshi Yamane is expected to become president.

In recent months, several people in Japan have been hospitalized or even died of kidney disease after taking red yeast rice supplements produced by Kobayashi Pharmaceuticals. As of the 10th of this month, the number of suspected deaths has reached 100.

On March 29, the Japanese health ministry said that puberulic acid, a toxic substance produced by blue mold, was detected in some production lots of red yeast rice ingredients. Blue mold was detected in the culture room and air conditioning equipment at the Osaka factory where Kobayashi Pharmaceutical was producing red yeast rice ingredients. The ministry is also investigating the toxicity of two other chemicals detected in the product.