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Bayer HealthCare purchases Pritor business from GlaxoSmithKline


WEBWIRE

- Annual turnover of approximately EUR 65 million in Europe.
- Innovative medication for the treatment of high blood pressure.

January 3, 2006, Leverkusen - Bayer HealthCare (BHC) has purchased the European business for Boehringer Ingelheim’s blood pressure treatment telmisartan (Pritor ® and PritorPlus®) from GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) with an annual turnover of approximately EUR 65 million in 2005.

Telmisartan, an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB), is a long-acting anti-hypertensive treatment that provides powerful 24 hour blood pressure control. It is effective, has a favourable safety profile, and provides blood pressure protection, even in the risky early morning hours where the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke is at its highest. With a growth rate of about 15 percent ARBs, are the fastest growing and the most competitive segment in the European hypertension market. Pritor is therfore considered an attractive investment within this group.

With this acquisition BHC will gain the right to market the drug in Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Portugal and 22 smaller European markets. The companies agreed not to disclose the financial terms of the transaction.

“The acquisition of Pritor provides an excellent strategic fit for Bayer HealthCare´s pharma business. The transaction allows us to utilize our excellent market knowledge and experience with the product in already existing Telmisartan markets,” said Wolfgang Plischke, President of Bayer HealthCare’s Pharmaceuticals Division.

Therewith BHC expands the number of markets in which it sells the product. Bayer HealthCare has had a co-marketing agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim/Germany, since 2002. Under that agreement BHC promotes telmisartan under the brand name Kinzalmono® and Kinzalkomb® in markets across Europe including Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Finland.

Telmisartan was discovered and developed by Boehringer Ingelheim who markets the compound under the trademark Micardis® in 84 countries around the world, including the USA, Japan and European countries. GlaxoSmithKline will continue to promote telmisartan as Pritor® under a co-marketing agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim in five countries.

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. In 2004, the Bayer HealthCare subgroup generated sales amounting to some 8.5 billion Euro. Bayer HealthCare employed 35,300 people worldwide in 2004.

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 innovative products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. The products enhance well-being and quality of life by diagnosing, preventing and treating diseases.

Boehringer Ingelheim
The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 144 affiliates in 45 countries and nearly 36,000 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel products of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.

In 2004, Boehringer Ingelheim posted net sales of 8.2 billion euro while spending nearly one fifth of net sales in its largest business segment Prescription Medicines on research and development


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.



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