VIRGINIA BRIEFING

-- Annie Gowen

DRUG SETTLEMENT

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Bayer to Pay $8 Million to Va., Other States

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Virginia and 29 other states have reached an $8 million settlement with Bayer Corp. over allegations that the drugmaker did not adequately warn consumers about risks associated with the cholesterol-reducing drug Baycol.

The Pennsylvania attorney general's office says that after introducing Baycol in the United States in 1998, the company learned that the drug posed much greater health risks than similar drugs, particularly when taken in higher doses or in combination with another cholesterol-lowering drug.

Bayer informed the Food and Drug Administration about the higher risks, but it allegedly failed to warn doctors and consumers about potential problems, such as a severe muscle reaction that could cause kidney failure.

Bayer voluntarily withdrew Baycol from the market in 2001.

-- Associated Press