Baycol
US, Canada and Puerto Rico
The cholesterol-lowering drug Baycol is the trade name for cerivastatin, originally manufactured by Bayer A.G. Four years after being on the market, Baycol was pulled because of its connection to a muscle-weakening disease. If you or a family member has been taking Baycol and are experiencing muscle weakness, joint pain, nausea or other unusual health conditions, please contact the dangerous drug lawyers at Balkin & Eisbrouch, LLC.
About Baycol
Approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in 1997, Baycol was one of a new class of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins. Statins work by blocking a specific enzyme in your body, which plays a role in the synthesis of cholesterol. Statins proved to be so effective that they received considerable support from doctors and health care professionals alike.
Problems with Baycol
Cerivastatin manufactured in Europe was called Lipobay instead of Baycol. Lipobay was pulled from the European market in the fall of 2001 after more than 30 people died from a muscle disease called rhabdomyolysis, which was connected to the drug.
The Dangers of Rhabdomyolysis
A muscle weakening disease, rhabdomyolysis causes the cells in your body to break down, which floods your kidneys with masses of cellular waste. In extreme cases, this massive amount of waste can overwhelm your kidneys, resulting in kidney failure and ultimately death.
If Baycol is combined with gemfibrozil (a cholesterol drug that lowers triglyceride levels), the risk of rhabdomyolysis is even greater.
Symptoms of rhabdomyolysis include:
- Muscle weakness, tenderness, and pain
- Dark or rust-colored urine
- Joint pain
- Abdominal pain
- Seizures
- Fever
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Fatigue
- Constipation
- Liver abnormalities
The Risks Were Known
While the risks of developing rhabdomyolysis were known, the FDA approved the class of statins anyway. This decision was based on the clinical tests that estimated only a small number of people would actually develop the disease and the benefits of Baycol would ultimately outweigh the risk potential.
Also, Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) found Baycol to be a cheaper alternative to other cholesterol-lowering drugs. At its peak, 12 million people were taking the medication. As the number of patients taking the drug increased, so did the occurrences of rhabdomyolysis, especially among the elderly population who were taking it in higher doses and in conjunction with gemfibrozil.
Baycol Recall
Bayer A.G. voluntarily withdrew the medication from the U.S. market in the summer of 2001. By the next year the drug was pulled from the international markets.
Bayer A.G. faced nearly 9,000 lawsuits in U.S. courts because of its dangerous side effects. During these cases, court documents revealed that Bayer executives were aware of the fatal side effects that were becoming more and more common, yet continued to promote the drug.
By keeping Baycol on the market after knowing about the damage it can cause, the drug manufacturing company is directly responsible for any injuries relating to the drug. If you or a loved one was taking Baycol and has experienced any adverse health impacts, please contact the dangerous drug attorneys at Balkin & Eisbrouch, LLC today. We serve clients nationwide, and also in Canada and Puerto Rico.
