Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. is considering going private, with a consortium of Japanese and British investment funds having proposed acquiring the company and overhauling its management, strengthening its quality-control operations, since health problems linked to its supplements containing “beni koji” red yeast rice came to light in 2024.
Amid health problems linked to red yeast rice supplements produced by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, a research team at the Tokyo Institute of Science announced by the 5th that it has clarified part of the mechanism by which puberulic acid, a substance derived from blue mold and identified as the causal compound, triggers kidney damage. While the substance responsible had previously been identified, how it actually damaged the kidneys had remained unclear.
The 8-billion-yen expansion was completed on Aug. 12, the Japanese company said. The expanded facility is expected to go into operation by the end of fiscal 2025. The production and warehouse areas of the factory were connected to improve logistics efficiency.
A major problem the drug and supplement maker must address is the “strong tendency to depend on top management,” seen among its employees, Ota said in a recent interview. In March 2024 it was discovered that Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Cos supplement containing ‘beni koji’ – red fermented rice – had led to several deaths from kidney failure.
Shareholders of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. on Friday approved the company’s proposed slate of 10 board nominees, including executive officer Norikazu Toyoda, who is set to become new president and CEO of the scandal-tainted Japanese company.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. said on Friday March 22nd 2024 it will voluntarily recall some 300,000 packs of five supplement products in Japan after reports of health damage suffered by users. The Osaka-based company said in March 2024 that 13 people had developed kidney disease and other symptoms after taking the products, advertised as foods with functional claims, including three containing “beni koji,” rice fermented with monascus purpureus, a species of mold that is red.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co’s net profit plunged 50.5 pct to 10,067 million yen in the aftermath of a health hazard scandal involving its supplements containing “beni koji” red fermented rice.
Scandal-tainted Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. said Tuesday that its current president, Satoshi Yamane, will step down and executive officer Norikazu Toyoda will assume the presidency.
Hong Kong-based activist investor Oasis Management Co. has increased its equity stake in Japan’s Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., rocked by a high-profile health hazard scandal over its supplements containing “beni koji” red fermented rice, according to a share transaction report.
Japan’s health ministry said Wednesday that puberulic acid caused kidney damage to users of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co.’s supplements containing “beni koji” red fermented rice. The acid is one of three chemical compounds detected in the supplements, while no kidney toxicity was confirmed in animal experiments from the other two compounds, the ministry said.
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