Bayer HealthCare concludes divestment of anti-infectives research to Santo Holding AG

Jobs in Wuppertal to be retained.

Wednesday - March 22, 2006, Leverkusen – Bayer HealthCare (BHC) has concluded the divestment of its anti-infectives research to Santo Holding AG, Stuttgart, Germany. Bayer HealthCare will retain a minority holding in the newly established company AiCuris GmbH & Co. KG. The majority owners are Dr. Andreas Strüngmann, Dr. Thomas Strüngmann and their families. No information about the financial aspects of the transaction has been announced.

“The divestment that has now been concluded according to plan has allowed us to retain valuable jobs and thus strength the Wuppertal research site. I am certain that the highly qualified staff will enjoy a productive environment in the new company,” explained Dr. Gunnar Riemann, Head of BHC’s Pharmaceuticals Division.

AiCuris GmbH & Co. KG will be headquartered in Bayer HealthCare’s Pharma-und Chemiepark in Wuppertal, Germany. The company will be headed by Professor Helga Rübsamen-Waigmann, formerly responsible for anti-infectives research at Bayer HealthCare. Some 30 staff will work under the roof of the new company in future, where they will conduct research into new active substances to treat diseases caused by viral and bacterial infections. In addition to searching for hospital antibiotics, the company will also conduct research in the fields of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), hepatitis C and B virus, HIV and herpes virus. All of these research products are designed to counter microbial resistance to existing medicines or to provide new treatment options for life threatening infections. The projects involve exclusively new substance classes.

AiCuris will take over various development products and research projects from BHC as well as patent rights and licenses. Bayer HealthCare will place its high-performance technology platform and product development know-how at the new company’s disposal in the context of limited-period service agreements.

“The establishment of AiCuris will not only safeguard the future for a professional research team; it is also a sign of our commitment to investment in jobs and research in Germany,” said Dr. Thomas Strüngmann on behalf of Santo Holding.

Bayer HealthCare

Bayer HealthCare, a subsidiary of Bayer AG, is one of the world’s leading, innovative companies in the health care and medical products industry based in Leverkusen/Germany. In 2005, the Bayer HealthCare subgroup generated sales amounting to some 9.4 billion Euro. Bayer HealthCare employed 33.800 people worldwide in 2005.

The company combines the global activities of the divisions Animal Health, Consumer Care, Diabetes Care, Diagnostics and Pharmaceuticals. Since January 1, 2006 the new Pharmaceutical Division consists of the former Biological Products and Pharmaceutical Division and now comprises three business units: Hematology/Cardiology, Oncology and Primary Care.

Bayer HealthCare’s aim is to discover and manufacture products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. The products enhance well-being and quality of life by diagnosing, preventing and treating diseases.

Your contact:

AiCuris:
Professor Helga Rübsamen-Waigmann
CEO
AiCuris GmbH & Co. KG
Bayer HealthCare Pharmazentrum
Aprather Weg 18a / Geb. 405
D-42117 Wuppertal, Germany
Phone: +49 202 36 4143


Forward-looking statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in our public reports filed with the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (including our Form 20-F). The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

Contact Information

Christina Sehnert

Bayer HealthCare (BHC)

Contact via E-mail