By order of the federal judge of La Plata, Ernesto Kreplak, and at the request of prosecutor María Laura Roteta, this Wednesday the former top officials of the agencies responsible for drug control in the country were arrested.
They are Nélida Agustina Bisio, former head of the National Administration of Medicines, Foods and Medical Technology (ANMAT), and Gabriela Carmen Mantecón Fumado, who was in charge of the National Institute of Medicines (INAME).
Both officials were in their positions at the time when the laboratories linked to Ariel García Furfaro produced the contaminated fentanyl that is believed to be related to at least 90 deaths.
Nélida Bisio and Gabriela Fumado
The case now advances on possible non-compliance and omissions by those who had the responsibility to oversee pharmaceutical production.
According to the file, both Bisio and Mantecón Fumado were aware of deficiencies detected in previous inspections conducted at the plants of Laboratorios Ramallo and HLB Pharma.
However, they allegedly did not take concrete measures to stop the activity or correct the irregularities detected in the manufacturing and marketing processes.
One of the central points of the investigation dates back to November 2024, when an INAME inspection identified serious shortcomings at the plant located in the Buenos Aires town of Ramallo, owned by García Furfaro.
Despite the seriousness of the findings, no immediate actions were taken. The intervention only occurred after the first deaths were reported at the Italian Hospital of La Plata.
In this new phase of the judicial process, the prosecution focused on the responsibility of the officials in charge of supervising pharmaceutical activity. In this context, officers from the City Police showed up at their homes to carry out the arrests.
Contaminated fentanyl
The case also included records of entries and exits of executives from HLB Pharma and Laboratorios Ramallo corresponding to the period 2024-2025.
Among the gathered elements is a meeting held on January 14, 2025, at the ANMAT headquarters, located at Avenida de Mayo 869. According to the file, Javier Tchukram, María García, Ariel García Furfaro, and his brother Diego participated, entering at 15:13 and leaving at 15:55.
In her testimonial statement, Bisio acknowledged the meeting and noted that it “was heated,” referring to the exchange held with the representatives of the laboratories. During that meeting, the results of the inspections conducted by INAME at the Ramallo facilities were discussed.
With the arrests already made, the investigation advances regarding the role that regulatory authorities played in a case that exposed critical failures in health control mechanisms and led to one of the most serious crises in the system in recent years.
