TOKYO — A Japanese pharmaceutical company is investigating 80 deaths possibly linked to a yeast-containing supplement it sells in Japan, the country’s health ministry said Friday, in a shocking increase from an earlier revelation that is focusing attention on how supplements are regulated. The company, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, in March had reported five deaths potentially linked to its CholesteHelp rice and red-yeast pills. Japanese government health officials said the supplement, which claimed to help reduce cholesterol, contained puberulic acid, a highly toxic compound that is a product of mold.
In response to the sudden surge in reported deaths, Health Minister Keizo Takemi said it was “extremely regrettable” that Kobayashi Pharmaceutical had not updated the ministry sooner. The company, which is based in Osaka, had not provided new information on deaths potentially linked to CholesteHelp since March. Since then, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical has received reports that 1,656 people sought medical advice for CholesteHelp-related health concerns, and 289 people have been hospitalized, the company reported.
CholesteHelp has been recalled in Japan and China, the only countries the supplement was sold in, according to a spokesperson for Kobayashi Pharmaceutical. Takemi said the government would step in to take a more active role in investigating, after allowing the company to self-report its findings. “We cannot leave Kobayashi Pharmaceutical alone to handle it anymore,”.
