A Chicago lawyer who is suing German pharmaceutical giant Bayer A.G. on behalf of Americans who used the anti-cholesterol drug Baycol has filed a class action suit for Canadians who took the drug.

The firm of Kenneth B. Moll and Associates filed the lawsuit this week on behalf of all Canadians who used or bought the drug after March 2, 1998. The class action seeks damages for people who took the drug and have not yet shown signs of physical injury, people who were injured as a result of taking the drug and all people who purchased it for personal or family use. Last week the same law firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of individual Canadians who used the drug and were injured by it. That suit, filed in the northern district of Illinois, names 20 Canadians who died or suffered personal injuries related to their use of Baycol.

Lisa Milburn, a spokeswoman for Bayer, said that the company was not commenting.

Baycol was recalled in August in response to safety concerns. The manufacturer said in January that it was aware of more than 100 deaths worldwide related to the use of Baycol. At least one of those deaths occurred in Canada.

The family of that victim, Pearl Inwood, of Belleville, Ont., filed a $100-million lawsuit against Bayer A.G. and its Canadian distributor, and Bayer Inc., last fall, saying Bayer acted negligently because it "failed to adequately test Baycol in a manner that would fully disclose the various side effects and the magnitude of the risks associated with its use."

Inwood died last July of rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which muscle cells are destroyed and released into the bloodstream.

Baycol has been linked to rhabdomyolysis as well as several other side-effects. Lawsuits claim the drug can cause fever, nausea, vomiting and kidney failure, among other symptoms.

It is estimated that six million people around the globe were prescribed Baycol to reduce cholesterol. More than one million prescriptions for the drug were written in Canada.