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Argentina Names Luis Fontana to Lead ANMAT After Fentanyl Scandal

The decree signals a management reboot of the regulator during a still‑active fentanyl probe.

Overview

  • Decree 3/2026, published in the Boletín Oficial, accepted Agustina Bisio’s resignation and appointed surgeon and health executive Luis Eduardo Fontana as ANMAT administrator, effective January 5, 2026.
  • The leadership change follows a high‑profile federal case led by Judge Ernesto Kreplak examining contaminated fentanyl and oversight failures at the regulator.
  • Investigators have flagged more than 300,000 ampoules produced with deficient practices and commercialized by HLB Pharma and Laboratorios Ramallo under the regulator’s watch.
  • Press reports link the case to more than a hundred deaths, with totals varying by outlet, and the judicial and administrative determinations of responsibility remain pending.
  • The government highlights Fontana’s private‑sector management background at OSDE and priorities such as traceability, digitalization, and process standardization to strengthen ANMAT’s controls.