TOKYO: A Japanese drugmaker said on Friday it is investigating five deaths potentially linked to dietary supplements meant to lower cholesterol and apologised for the “anxiety and fear” it had caused.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical has recalled three brands of over-the-counter tablets after customers reported kidney problems.
The firm said it was trying to establish if the products containing red yeast rice, or “beni koji”, had caused five deaths and 114 hospitalisations.
Medical studies say red yeast rice can lower cholesterol but also warn of a risk of organ damage depending on the ingredient’s chemical make-up.
The growing crisis has made headlines in Japan, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledging to consider “all possible measures” to prevent similar incidents if the deaths were caused by the products.
“I apologise deeply for the great anxiety and fear we have caused,” company president Akihiro Kobayashi told a news conference on Friday.
He said the company would “devote all our energies” to investigating the matter.
Kobayashi Pharmaceu-tical, which voluntarily recalled “Beni Koji Choleste Help” and two other tablet brands a week ago, supplies red yeast rice to around 50 other firms in Japan and two in Taiwan.
Some of those companies have preventively recalled food products containing the ingredient, including a rose-coloured sake and salad dressing.
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