The president and chairman of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical resigned after the scandal over the red supplements

The president and chairman of Japan's Kobayashi Pharmaceutical have resigned after dozens of consumers were suspected to have died from taking the company's health supplement containing a component called Koji.

Bloomberg reported that Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. (Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co.) President Akihiro Kobayashi and Chairman Kazuya Kobayashi will step down on Tuesday (July 23), and company executive Satoshi Yamane will take over as president.

Kobayashi said last month it was investigating the deaths of 76 people who took supplements containing the ingredient. Its scientific name is Hongkoji, which has been used for brewing red Koji rice wine and making food for more than 1,000 years.

The company's shares fell 1 percent in Tokyo trading Tuesday and are down nearly 18 percent this year.

Japan's Health and Labour Minister Keizo Takemi confirmed that puberulic acid, detected in Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's health product containing the red yeast, has adverse effects on the kidneys, Xinhua quoted him as saying on May 28. In addition to puberulinic acid, sample testing confirmed the presence of two other previously unknown compounds. Takemi Keizo said that it is presumed that these substances are produced by penicillium mixed in the process of cultivating the red soybeans.