Latest news with #HLBPharma
Khaleej Times
5 days ago
- Health
- Khaleej Times
Argentina: At least 100 dead after receiving tainted medical fentanyl
The death toll from contaminated fentanyl administered in Argentina's hospitals grew to over 100 on Thursday, the government said, blaming a local pharma lab as outrage grew over the slow response to the crisis. Since May, the country has been trying to determine how many deaths were linked to bacteria-infected supplies of the drug used in hospitals in four provinces as well as the capital Buenos Aires. Ariel Furfaro Garcia, the owner of HLB Pharma group, was the "manufacturer of the batch of contaminated fentanyl responsible for the deaths of more than 100 people," a spokesperson for Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei said in a statement. Following an investigation, Argentina's drug regulatory agency ANMAT had shut down the lab three months before the first deaths from the tainted fentanyl occurred, the statement added. Furfaro Garcia has previously denied claims that he was responsible, blaming a former colleague for planting the story in the media, according to newspaper reports. Two weeks ago, relatives of victims protested outside a hospital in the city of La Plata south of Buenos Aires, where the first deaths were reported, demanding "justice for the fentanyl victims." The latest increase in the death toll comes just weeks before September 7 legislative elections in Buenos Aires province, which is the most populous in the country. The vote is considered a prelude to October's national mid-term legislative elections, which will serve as a popularity test of the self-described "anarcho-capitalist" Milei. At a campaign rally in La Plata, Milei accused the followers of his arch-nemesis, left-wing ex-president Cristina Kirchner, of an "atrocious cover-up" of Furfaro Garcia's involvement in the fentanyl deaths, without providing evidence. Calling Furfaro a "longtime Kirchnerist associate," he accused his rivals of getting "getting away with any atrocity." A probe into the fentanyl deaths first arose from a complaint filed by ANMAT, which had received a report from a hospital that discovered the tainted drug in its supply, an employee of the agency told AFP on condition of anonymity. Experts have warned that the death toll could rise as new medical records are reviewed and cases are confirmed in hospitals that to date had not reported any fentanyl-linked deaths.
India Today
5 days ago
- Health
- India Today
At least 96 dead after receiving contaminated medical fentanyl in Argentina
Argentina is facing one of its most serious pharmaceutical scandals in decades, with up to 96 people reported dead after receiving hospital treatment with medical fentanyl contaminated by dangerous bacteria, according to The official death toll remains at 87. However, the Buenos Aires Herald reported that nine additional deaths are being examined to determine whether they are linked to the tainted TRACED TO MEDICAL FENTANYLThe crisis first came to light in May when dozens of patients in hospitals developed severe bacterial infections shortly after being administered fentanyl for pain relief or anaesthesia. Medical tests revealed the presence of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Ralstonia pickettii -- strains that, in several cases, were resistant to multiple traced the contamination to batches of fentanyl produced by pharmaceutical company HLB Pharma and its laboratory partner, Laboratorio Ramallo as reported by The drug regulator, Anmat, confirmed the presence of bacterial contamination both in samples taken from deceased patients and in ampoules from two specific fentanyl batches. One of these had been "widely circulated," federal judge Ernesto Kreplak, who is leading the investigation, told local DENIES DIRECT RESPONSIBILITYAriel Garca Furfaro, owner of HLB Pharma, rejected claims that the deaths could be directly linked to his company's product. In an interview with La Nación, he said the firm had voluntarily pulled the fentanyl from the market and suggested the contamination may have been deliberate contaminated medication was reportedly distributed to hospitals in Buenos Aires province, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Formosa and Buenos Aires city. Authorities believe more than 300,000 ampoules may have been affected, with approximately 45,000 administered before the rest were recalled and who received the contaminated fentanyl had been hospitalised for unrelated medical conditions but rapidly deteriorated after infection with the multidrug-resistant the contaminated batches have been recalled, new cases linked to the fentanyl continue to criminal charges have yet been filed, but 24 individuals connected to the manufacture and distribution of the fentanyl have been named as suspects. The court has imposed travel bans on them and frozen their IS THE MEDICAL USE OF FENTANYL?Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid approved for pain management and anaesthesia, is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. In this case, the contamination -- rather than the drug's chemical properties -- is blamed for the deaths, making it one of the most smost serious drug contamination incidents in Argentina's history.- Ends
New Indian Express
5 days ago
- Health
- New Indian Express
At least 87 people die in Argentina after being treated with medical-use fentanyl tainted with bacteria: Reports
At least 87 people have died in Argentina after being treated with medical-use fentanyl that was tainted with bacteria, reports said. According to Buenos Aires Herald, the investigation started in May, when the first nine people were confirmed to have died of an infection caused by fentanyl produced by pharmaceutical company HLB Pharma and its laboratory Laboratorio Ramallo. Since then, La Plata Federal Judge Ernesto Kreplak, from the Buenos Aires province judiciary, has been leading an investigation to trace the full number of victims and those responsible. Argentine food and drug regulator ANMAT, Buenos Aires Herald added, ordered all health centers in Argentina to stop using their fentanyl batch, and ordered the companies to halt all production. Last week, a media outlet reported that HLB Pharma had been authorized to purchase certificates to manufacture medicines. However, ANMAT refuted the article in a communiqué and stressed that the laboratory 'cannot carry out any activity related to the manufacture, fractionation, import, export, distribution, or marketing of medical or pharmaceutical products.' The Guardian reported that in an interview with La Nación, the owner of HLB Pharma, Ariel García Furfaro, denied that the deaths could be directly attributed to his product, said his company pulled it from the market itself, and claimed that if the ampoules were contaminated, someone had 'planted' the contaminant. The patients had been hospitalised for unrelated conditions and were given the drug for pain relief or anaesthetic, before becoming infected with the multidrug-resistant bacteria. No charges have yet been filed, but the court has named 24 people involved in the manufacture and sale of the opioid as suspects. They have been banned from leaving the country and had their assets frozen, The Guardian report said.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Argentina rocked as contaminated medical fentanyl kills up to 96 patients
As many as 96 people are now thought to have died in Argentina after being treated with medical-use fentanyl that was tainted with bacteria. The official death toll stands at 87, and a judicial source has told the Buenos Aires Herald that nine further deaths are under investigation. The alarm was first raised in May, when dozens of hospital patients suffered serious bacterial infections. Strains of the bacteria Klebsiella pneumoniae and Ralstonia pickettii – some of which were resistant to multiple antibiotics – were detected in the patients. Investigators said the source was fentanyl, which it traced to the pharmaceutical company HLB Pharma and its laboratory, Laboratorio Ramallo. Tests carried out by Argentina's drug regulator, Anmat, confirmed bacterial contamination in the deceased and in ampoules from two fentanyl batches prepared by the company – one of which had been 'widely circulated', according to the federal judge Ernesto Kreplak, who is leading the investigation. In an interview with La Nación, the owner of HLB Pharma, Ariel García Furfaro, denied that the deaths could be directly attributed to his product, said his company pulled it from the market itself, and claimed that if the ampoules were contaminated, someone had 'planted' the contaminant. The patients had been hospitalised for unrelated conditions and were given the drug for pain relief or anaesthetic, before becoming infected with the multidrug-resistant bacteria. Authorities say the contamination may have affected more than 300,000 ampoules distributed across Buenos Aires province, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Formosa and Buenos Aires city; an estimated 45,000 had been administered before the remainder were withdrawn and seized. 'Argentina has never experienced such a serious case. It is unprecedented,' said Adriana Francese, lawyer for four of the victims' families. The human toll has been severe. 'The fentanyl caused their death within days,' Alejandro Ayala, brother of Leonel, who died at 32, told AFP last week. The mother of 18-year-old Renato Nicolini, who was hospitalised following a car accident and later died from the fentanyl complications, told Efe: 'He began to improve little by little, and on the third day, they discovered he had pneumonia. His fever couldn't be controlled, and seven days later, he died.' The ampoules from the affected batch have been recalled, and Kreplak has said: 'Contaminated ampoules are not circulating today.' Yet the death toll continues to climb as investigators analyse more cases of patients who died in recent months after receiving the medication. No charges have yet been filed, but the court has named 24 people involved in the manufacture and sale of the opioid as suspects. They have been banned from leaving the country and had their assets frozen. Francese said the investigation was looking at how the contaminated batches were manufactured and what quality controls were in place. 'This is going to be very important to determine responsibility,' she said. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid approved for pain relief and anaesthetic, is between 50 and 100 times more powerful than morphine.
