Bayer Corporation's lead attorney announced Tuesday that the company was in talks to settle 500 lawsuits over its now-banned cholesterol medication Baycol. Bayer has already settled around 450 claims, at a cost of nearly $125 million. The additional 500 cases involve patients who now suffer from rhabdomyolysis, a severe muscle disorder that can cause kidney damage and liver failure. Analysts estimate around 1,600 of the 7,800 claims against Bayer over Baycol involve plaintiffs who developed the debilitating condition.

The announcement came one week after the first trial in the United States involving the drug began in Corpus Christi, Texas. The plaintiff, retired engineer Hollis Haltom, alleges Baycol, which was removed from the U.S. market in August 2001, caused him to develop rhabdomyolysis. Haltom's attorney said a decision in the trial is expected in around two weeks.