Japan's Kobayashi Pharma chairmrambutan 8k8an, president step down over supplement scandal

TOKYO - Japanese drugmaker Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. said Tuesday the company's chairman and its president resigned to take responsibility for health problems and deaths that could be linked to the consumption of its red yeast rice dietary supplements.

The resignations of Chairman Kazumasa Kobayashi and President Akihiro Kobayashi, both members of the company's founding family, were approved at a special meeting of the board of directors earlier on the day.

The Osaka-based pharmaceutical giant also released an investigation report over its handling of the issue, acknowledging delays in alerting consumers to potential risks and recalling their products.

Meanwhile, 64-year-old Satoshi Yamane, senior executive director of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, has been promoted to the company's president, making him the first person outside the company's founding family to serve in the post.

After stepping down, Kazumasa, 84, will become a special adviser, while Akihiro, 53, will give up the authority to represent the company but remain as a director to respond to compensation for health hazards caused by the supplement.

According to Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, the number of deaths that need to be investigated in connection with the consumption of its supplements reached 101 as of Sunday, including four people that the company announced in March that had died after taking its dietary supplements with red yeast rice, or beni-koji.