BERLIN — Bayer AG said Monday that its Baycol anti-cholesterol drug may be linked to 52 deaths, five days after Germany's biggest drug maker announced a voluntary recall of the drug.
The Leverkusen-based company said the deaths occurred following treatment with Baycol's active ingredient, cerivastatin. It said the chances of the drug, known as Lipobay outside the United States, ever returning to the market are "slim."
"If the use of this medicine has resulted in damage to health, that is something we deeply regret," chief executive Manfred Schneider said at a news conference Monday. "We do everything we can to eliminate such risks," stressing that there is still no proof that the drug caused the deaths.
Bayer's stock dropped by 20 percent in three days after it announced the recall because of possible links to deaths.