March 12, 2003

The cholesterol-lowering drug Baycol was so safe that one defendant's mother took the drug for six months, a Bayer employee told jurors Tuesday.

Pete Curran, a pharmaceutical sales representative for Bayer, said the company wanted him to tell physicians that patients shouldn't begin taking Baycol at its highest dosage.

Curran and Bayer are defendants in a lawsuit over the safety of the withdrawn drug. Bayer voluntarily withdrew Baycol from the market in August 2001, in large part because physicians weren't following instructions to start patients at lower dosages, company officials said.

Attorneys for 82-year-old Hollis Haltom claim the company is legally responsible for causing Haltom's muscles to deteriorate, a condition known as rhabdomyolysis. Curran provided Haltom's physician with samples of Baycol.

Attorneys for Haltom questioned company documents that identified when Curran called the physician. They also disputed documents entered into evidence that reportedly show when Haltom's physician received a May 2001 letter from Baycol that said patients should begin taking Baycol at a precise dosage, 0.4mg.

Plaintiff's attorney Rickey Brantley said the document does not indicate when the letter was sent and likened it to a mailing list.

In Tuesday's court proceedings, the issue of whether a particular company representative worked on a study of the drug surfaced. During a videotaped deposition shown to jurors Thursday, Bayer's Elizabeth Crowley said she did not contribute to a Baycol study despite her printed name on it.

Defense attorney Philip Beck said that practice was common and no questions have been raised concerning the validity of the study.

Also on Tuesday, District Attorney Carlos Valdez said he would not pursue criminal charges against some Bayer officials concerning a letter Bayer distributed in the area.

The February letter from Meredith B. Fischer, vice president for Bayer HealthCare North America Communications and Public Policy, referred to the case and provided some background on Baycol.

Valdez said there wasn't enough evidence to merit a criminal investigation.

If he had decided to pursue criminal charges, Fischer and others involved in creating the letter could have faced misdemeanor charges of coercion of a public servant or improper influence.

Testimony in the civil case continues today in the fifth floor courtroom of the Nueces County Courthouse. Closing arguments are expected to begin Thursday.