Baycol And Rhabdomyolysis

Manufactured by Bayer, Baycol became very popular in a short period of time in its role as a cholesterol lowing medication that was intended to reduce the amount of LDL cholesterol in the body. The medication was taken by thousands of people around the world on a regular basis as both its brand name, Baycol, and its generic name, cerivastatin, in order to prevent cardiovascular disease and other known complications associated with high cholesterol. The medication was used as a preventative medication and was not used to treat any specific type of medical condition.

In the summer of 2001, the US Food and Drug Administration requested that Bayer voluntarily remove Baycol from the market because of a link between the medication and the development of a debilitating condition known as rhabdomyolysis. In the time since the announcement of the recall has been made public, the medication has been positively linked to more than 100 people who had died from their complications with rhabdomyolysis, most notably from kidney failure. Because the risks of taking the medication far outweighed the benefits that could be realized from taking the medication, it was decided that Baycol had to be removed from the US market.

The most common life threatening complications associated with the use of Baycol and the development of rhabdomyolysis are kidney or renal failure, liver toxicity and advanced kidney disease. In some cases, the body is unable to handle the ravages of the condition and the person dies from the build up of toxic materials in the blood. Treatment for the condition must begin quickly after the condition has been diagnosed to preserve the health of the person and prevent the build up of toxic materials in the blood that can cause the conditions that can threaten the life of the patient.

After the US Food and Drug Administration was made aware of the association between the use of Baycol as a cholesterol lowering medication and the development of rhabdomyolysis, they sent out a warning to healthcare professionals warning about the risks of prescribing Baycol to their patients and what symptoms to look for in their patients that had been taking the medication. It was requested that any patient that had been taking Baycol and developed the common symptoms of rhabdomyolysis should be diagnosed quickly and treatment begun immediately to limit the effects of the condition. When the first warnings went out, Baycol had already been linked to 31 deaths from rhabdomyolysis with more reports coming into the US Food and Drug Administration each year.

Studies were conducted that found that patients that had taken Baycol for a significant period of time were more than 10 times more likely to develop rhabdomyolysis than patients that had taken other types of cholesterol lowering medications. It was also found that as many as 10% of the people that had taken Baycol for its cholesterol lowering properties could expect to develop rhabdomyolysis in the future. The danger associated with taking Baycol was discovered to be so great that the only reasonable option was to take the medication off of the market to eliminate its harmful effects.

Do I Have a Baycol Lawsuit?

If you or a loved one have suffered a serious side effect after taking Baycol, you should contact an Injury Help Network attorney immediately. You may be entitled to compensation for your injuries by filing a Baycol lawsuit.

Our group of trial lawyers are handling Rhabdomyolysis, kidney damage/failure and death lawsuits in all 50 states. Please use the form at the bottom of this page to contact a Baycol law firm for a Free Confidential Case Evaluation.