Two more deaths in Japan are linked to supplements

Japanese drugmaker Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, which is at the center of a health scare, yesterday reported two more deaths potentially related to its dietary supplements.

In Taiwan, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that it is investigating a report of a Kaohsiung woman with kidney failure who had taken similar supplements for years.

Last week, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical recalled three supplement brands — including “Beni Koji Choleste Help” — after customer complaints of kidney problems.

The over-the-counter products contain an ingredient called red yeast rice, or “beni koji,” which is supposed to help lower cholesterol.

Yesterday’s announcement brought the total number of deaths under investigation by the company and the Japanese Ministry of Health to four, with more than 100 people hospitalized.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in parliament that “after the cause is identified, the government will examine what measures are necessary to prevent similar incidents.”

“We will clarify the causes and, if necessary, I think we need to consider all possible measures,” he said.

Kishida was responding to an opposition politician who had urged him to revise safety frameworks that were relaxed under former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical sells a wide range of health products marketed through television advertisements in Japan.

Medical studies describe red yeast rice as an alternative to statins for lowering high cholesterol, but also warn of a risk of organ damage depending on its chemical make-up.

The Osaka-based company says it has also supplied red yeast rice to about 50 other firms in Japan and two in Taiwan.

KAOHSIUNG CASE

In Kaohsiung, the woman’s husband told reporters that his 70-yearold wife, surnamed Chen (陳), had acute kidney failure in March last year and began dialysis in May.

Before then she had taken red yeast rice supplements from Taiwan’s Da Yi Biotech & Health Food Co Ltd (大醫生技) for three or four years, he said.

He said he was notified by Da Yi Biotech on Wednesday that it was issuing a preventative recall of its red yeast rice products and advised people not to consume any.

FDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) told reporters that the company sourced red yeast rice from New Taipei City-based SHS Biotech Co (三合興產業股份), which in turn purchased it from Kobayashi Pharmaceutical.

Da Yi Biotech was one of the companies the FDA on Wednesday asked to remove the product from its shelves as a precaution, Lin said.

However, it is not yet known whether the woman’s kidney condition is related to the supplement, it added.

Lin said that Chen did not take Kobayashi Pharmaceutical-branded products and urged her family to contact their local health officials.