Drugs 'turned man into sex maniac'

Mr Davis told the High Court he had been impotent

A businessman turned into a "deranged sex maniac" under the influence of prescribed drugs, the High Court in London has heard.

Richard Davis, 53, was diagnosed with a non-malignant pituitary gland tumour in 1989.

He says he began to act "completely out of character" after he started taking Bromocriptine for the condition

Mr Davis is suing for £8.5m over his treatment with Bromocriptine and a then unlicensed drug - known as CV205-502 - which allegedly led to "incontinent and inappropriate" sexual behaviour, bankruptcy and criminal convictions.

The extreme side effects of vast over-confidence and aggressiveness led me into serious trouble

Richard Davis

Before taking the medication Mr Davis, from Mill Hill in London, said he had led a "quiet modest life".

In written evidence to the court that through "absence of libido" he had been impotent and had never had sexual intercourse.

But within weeks of starting Bromocriptine he found himself "very preoccupied with sexual feelings towards women".

He started buying pornographic videos and became extremely promiscuous.

Mr Davis paid to have sex with call-girls during the week and spent "extremely active" weekends with his girlfriend.

'Financially ruined'

Unable to think beyond the immediate moment, Mr Davis began "behaving like a cross between a deranged sex maniac and a highly over-excited teenager".

He said that prior to the treatment, he had never been in trouble with the police.

Mr Davis said: "The extreme side effects of vast over-confidence and aggressiveness led me into serious trouble."

He was convicted of dishonesty on two occasions, in December 1992 and March 1995 and was made bankrupt in 1993.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals (UK) Ltd, Camden and Islington Health Authority (sued as managers of Middlesex Hospital where Mr Davis was treated), and consultant Professor Howard Saul Jacobs, who is now retired, all deny liability.

The trial continues.