The case of the contaminated fentanyl that caused the death of more than a hundred patients in hospitals and clinics across the country has become a symbol of the contrast between two management models: that of Kirchnerist impunity and that of decisive action by the current government.
The epicenter of the plot is Ariel García Furfaro, a businessman linked to Lázaro Báez and beneficiary of state contracts during the K era, who went from being a greengrocer to a multimillionaire pharmaceutical entrepreneur in just a few years. Furfaro is owner of HLB Pharma Group S.A., the laboratory that manufactured the batch of contaminated fentanyl that resulted in more than 100 deaths. He also controls Laboratorios Ramallo S.A., from where the deadly substance was produced and distributed.
During Kirchnerism, HLB Pharma operated without ANMAT inspections since February 2020. It was not until September 2024, under the management of Dr. Mario Lugones as Minister of Health, that a key inspection was ordered at the Ramallo laboratory. Just two hours after receiving the result, in February 2025, the head of ANMAT, Agustina Bisio, disqualified the plant, shutting down its production three months before the first death occurred.
That same year, in March, ANMAT banned the distribution of batch 60000 of "Propofol HLB, injectable IV emulsion", preventing hundreds of potential deaths in simple operations. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Security began investigations for false documentation in RENPRE, while ARCA filed aggravated tax evasion charges against the laboratory.
