Two local class-action lawsuits were filed yesterday against Bayer Corp. over a cholesterol-lowering drug that has been linked to 31 deaths in the United States and at least nine more fatalities overseas.

Working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Bayer Pharmaceutical stopped the sale of Baycol, also called cerivastatin, on Aug. 8 in every country except Japan.

Baycol is from a family of drugs called statins that dramatically lower cholesterol. Every statin has been linked to very rare reports of a muscle side effect called rhabdomyolysis. According to the FDA, Baycol has been linked to significantly more fatal cases than its competitors.

Frank DeLuca of Bridgeville is the plaintiff in one local lawsuit filed yesterday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court and Lisa Frost of Elverson is the plaintiff in the other. Both took Baycol but neither of them has been diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis.