Earlier this month, Bayer, a German Pharmaceuticals and chemicals company, announced the sudden withdrawal of its cholesterol-lowering drug, Baycol, from the market because of side-effects that have been linked to 52 deaths so far. The company's own retreat from drug-making will probably be a more leisurely affair. On August 13th, Manfred Schneider, Bayer's chairman, announced that the group was willing to reassess the future of its pharmaceuti-cals business, and might contemplate taking a back seat in a joint venture or even an outright sale.
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