Baycol out of Japan
Bayer has decided to withdraw the cholesterol-lowering drug Baycol from the Japanese market in the interests of patient safety, after Japanese health authorities said that gemfibrozil will soon be registered in the country. Concomitant use of baycol and gemfibrozil can, in rare cases, lead to muscle weakness.
Japan had initially been omitted from the worldwide withdrawl because gemfibrozil is currently nor marketed there. The withdrawl of the product in Japan will have a negative effect of up to e150m on Bayer's operating result for the year.