Lab owner arrested over tainted fentanyl linked to deaths in Argentina

BUENOS AIRES: Argentine authorities arrested the owner and officials of two pharmaceutical laboratories on Wednesday over “possible quality deviations” in contaminated medicinal fentanyl linked to dozens of deaths.

President Javier Milei’s government estimated last week that 100 people had died since May from tainted fentanyl, though prosecutors did not specify victim numbers.

Since May, the South American country has been trying to determine how many deaths were linked to bacteria-infected supplies of the drug used in hospitals in four provinces, including in the capital Buenos Aires.

Among those detained was Ariel Garcia Furfaro, owner of the Ramallo and HLB Pharma laboratories responsible for producing and marketing the contaminated batches.

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Other executives and technical managers from both companies were also targeted with arrest warrants.

Federal prosecutor Maria Laura Roteta described the case as involving “complex criminality with a high number of victims and an organized business conglomerate,” warning the outbreak’s full extent remains undetermined.

HLB Pharma denied the contamination claims last week, stating that contamination “with one or even more multidrug-resistant bacteria typical of a hospital setting in the same batch is simply not possible in a laboratory setting.”

The prosecutor’s office, however, says that bacteria isolated in samples taken from infected patients were genetically identical to those detected in fentanyl vials seized at the headquarters of the companies involved.

In late July, relatives of alleged victims held a silent march to La Plata’s Italian Hospital carrying signs reading “justice for the victims of fentanyl.”

A probe into the fentanyl deaths first arose from a complaint filed by Argentina’s drug regulatory agency 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 other hospitals.

The opioid is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to WHO data. In the United States, fentanyl caused 48,422 of the more than 80,000 overdose deaths in 2024.