On August 8, 2001 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Bayer Pharmaceutical Division voluntarily withdrew Baycol from the U.S. market, due to reports of fatal Rhabdomyolysis, a severe adverse reaction from this cholesterol-lowering (lipid-lowering) product. It has also been withdrawn from the Canadian market. (en)
# Furberg CD, Pitt B: Withdrawal of cerivastatin from the world market. Curr Control Trials Cardiovasc Med. 2001;2(5):205-207. "Pubmed":http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11806796 (en)
Used as an adjunct to diet for the reduction of elevated total and LDL cholesterol levels in patients with primary hypercholesterolemia and mixed dyslipidemia (Fredrickson Types IIa and IIb) when the response to dietary restriction of saturated fat and cholesterol and other non-pharmacological measures alone has been inadequate. (en)
Cerivastatin competitively inhibits hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, the hepatic enzyme responsible for converting HMG-CoA to mevalonate. As mevalonate is a precursor of sterols such as cholesterol, this results in a decrease in cholesterol in hepatic cells, upregulation of LDL-receptors, and an increase in hepatic uptake of LDL-cholesterol from the circulation. (en)