When was the company founded?

August 1,1863 in Wuppertal, Germany

Friedrich Bayer and Johann Friedrich Weskott
o http://www.bayer.com/en/1863-1881.aspx
What was the original purpose or first products of the company?
Original Purpose: Manufacturing and Selling of Synthetic Dyes
Target Market: Textile Industry
o Reasons for this objective:
! Demand for Tar Dye Derivatives
! Industrialization
! New Invention: Synthesis of Red Dye Alizarin
" http://www.bayer.com/en/1863-1881.aspx
First Major Product: Aspirin
o Development of a Pharmaceutical group dedicated to reducing the side effects
of aspirin
! Felix Hoffman, chemist, reduced the side effects of acetylsalicylic acid
and purified it.
! Registered as aspirin
" http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/123/7/768.full
Second Major Product: Sulfonamides
o Antibacterial agent registered as Prontosil- Breakthrough in treatment of
infectious diseases.
o Gerhard Domargk- Nobel Prize in 1939
! http://www.bayer.com/en/1925-1945.aspx
Where are the headquarters, research and development, and manufacturing plants located?
Major Headquarters: Leverkusen, Germany (Bayer AG, Bayer HealthCare AG, Bayer
MaterialScience AG)
o United States: Bayer USA Corporate Communications in Pittsburgh, PA


Research and Development
o Leverkusen, Germany
o Finland: One of largest research facilities
Manufacturing Plants
o Belgium: Bayer MaterialScience production facilities for polyurethane
o Leverkusen, Germany
! http://www.bayer.com/en/bayer-worldwide.aspx
Discuss the overall focus and any unique aspects of the company.
Despite having invested in different industries (chemicals, plastics) and created
multiple divisions within the company, Bayers focus is largely on the life sciences
and expanding health care.
o Reasons:
! Bayer MaterialScience Products arent household names
! More profit found in the life sciences- industry continues to expand
" Remain No.1 in over-the-counter drugs
! Considering selling off Bayer MaterialScience
! Mission- Bayer: Science for a Better Life
" http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-27/bayer-said-to-
weigh-plastics-unit-sale-amid-health-focus.html
Unique aspects of the company:
o Improving upon initial discovery of aspirin by developing drugs for anti-
coagulation cardiovascular benefits:
! Xarelto which is an effective anti-coagulant alternative to Vitamin K
antagonist warfarin- warfarin is not as safe a drug for atrial
fibrillation(irregular/arrhymthic heartbeat)- may make a patient bleed
more easily
! Rivaroxaban- generic name


! X-VeRT, the first prospective trial of a novel oral anticoagulant
[Xarelto], showed that compared with the use of VKA, rivaroxaban
was associated with a numerical reduction in the risk of cardiovascular
events of 50 per cent in the composite primary efficacy outcome of
stroke, transient ischemic attack, peripheral embolism, myocardial
infarction and cardiovascular death, with a numerically lower risk of
major bleeding of 24 per cent in the primary safety outcome. X-
VeRT is a clinical trial by the NIH.
" http://press.healthcare.bayer.com/en/press/news-details-
page.php/15608/2014-0322
o Bayer MaterialScience and Bayer CropScience
! Otto Bayer developed the first Polyurethanes in 1937.
! The department focuses on developing materials solutions for
everyday problems
! Bayer CropScience- Large focus on sustainability and efficient use of
resources.
" http://www.bayer.com/en/MaterialScience.aspx
" http://www.cropscience.bayer.com/en/Commitment/Our-
Principles.aspx