- Bayer
:"For other uses, see
Bayer (disambiguation) orBeyer orbuyer ."Infobox Company
company_name = Bayer AG
company_
company_type = Public (FWB|BAY, tyo|4863)
foundation = 1863
company_slogan = Science for a Better Life
location =Leverkusen ,Germany
key_people = Werner Wenning (CEO), Manfred Schneider (Chairman of thesupervisory board )
revenue = €32.385 billion (2007)cite web |url=http://www.annualreport2007.bayer.com/en/bayer_annualreport_2007.pdfx |title=Annual Report 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-22 |publisher=Bayer]
operating_income = profit €3.154 billion (2007)
net_income = profit €4.711 billion (2007)
num_employees = 106,200 (2007)
industry = Pharmaceuticals, chemicals
products = Veterinarydrug s, diagnostic imaging, general and specialtymedicine s,women's health products,over-the-counter drug s,diabetes care,pesticides , plant biotechnology,polymer s,coating s,adhesive s
homepage = [http://www.bayer.com/ www.bayer.com]
subsid =Bayer MaterialScience ,Bayer USA ,Bayer Schering Pharma ,Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals , Bayer CropScience
intl = yesBayer AG (German, pronounced|ˈbaɪə) (FWB|BAY, tyo|4863) is a German chemical and
pharmaceutical company founded inBarmen ,Germany in 1863. Today it is headquartered inLeverkusen ,North Rhine-Westphalia ,Germany . It is well-known for its original brand ofaspirin . Bayer is at the time of this writing the third largest pharmaceutical company in the world.History
Bayer AG was founded in
Barmen (today a part ofWuppertal ), Germany in 1863 byFriedrich Bayer and his partner,Johann Friedrich Weskott .Bayer's first major product was
acetylsalicylic acid (originally discovered by French chemistCharles Frederic Gerhardt in 1853), a modification ofsalicylic acid orsalicin , afolk remedy found in thebark of thewillow plant. By 1899, Bayer'strademark Aspirin was registered worldwide for Bayer's brand of acetylsalicylic acid, but because of the confiscation of Bayer's US assets and trademarks duringWorld War I by the United States - and the subsequent widespread usage of the word to describe all brands of the compound, "Aspirin" lost its trademark status in theUnited States ,France , and theUnited Kingdom . It is now widely used in the US, UK, and France for all brands of the drug. However in over 80 other countries, such asCanada ,Mexico ,Germany , andSwitzerland , it is still a registered trademark of Bayer.In 1904, the Bayer company introduced the Bayer cross as its corporate logo. Because Bayer's
aspirin was sold through pharmacists and doctors only, and the company could not put its own packaging on the drug, the Bayer cross was imprinted on the actual tablets, so that customers would associate Bayer with its aspirin.As part of the reparations after
World War I , Bayer had its assets, including the rights to its name andtrademark s, confiscated in theUnited States ,Canada , and several other countries. In the United States and Canada, Bayer's assets and trademarks were acquired bySterling Drug , a predecessor ofSterling Winthrop .The Bayer company then became part of
IG Farben , a conglomerate of German chemical industries that formed a part of the the financial core of the GermanNazi regime. IG Farben owned 42.5% of the company that manufacturedZyklon B Fact|date=February 2007, a chemical used in the gas chambers ofAuschwitz and other extermination camps. During World War II, the company also extensively usedslave labor in factories attached to large slave labor camps, notably the sub-camps of theMauthausen-Gusen concentration camp es icon cite book | author =various authors | title =Memoriales históricos, 1933–1945 | year =2005 | chapter = Historia de los campos de concentración: El sistema de campos de concentración nacionalsocialista, 1933–1945: un modelo europeo | url =http://www.memoriales.net/ ] . When theAllies split IG Farben into several pieces afterWorld War II for involvement in organizedNazi war crime s, Bayer reappeared as an individual business. The Bayer executiveFritz ter Meer , sentenced to seven years in prison by theNuremberg War Crimes Tribunal , was made head of the supervisory board of Bayer in 1956, after his release. [ [http://www.ahrp.org/infomail/05/01/27a.php Auschwitz:60 Year Anniversary- the Role of IG Farben-Bayer ] ]In 1978, Bayer purchased
Miles Laboratories and its subsidiariesMiles Canada andCutter Laboratories (along with a product line includingAlka-Seltzer , Flintstones Vitamins andOne-A-Day Vitamins , and Cutterinsect repellent ). In 1994, Bayer AG purchased Sterling Winthrop's over the counter drug business fromSmithKline Beecham and merged it with Miles Laboratories, thereby reacquiring the U.S. and Canadian trademark rights to "Bayer" and the Bayer cross, as well as the ownership of the Aspirin trademark in Canada.Bayer has discovered, among others:
*Aspirin — aanalgesic , anti-fever , and anti-coagulent medicine, arguably the most commercially successful drug ever
*Heroin (diacetylmorphine) — an addictive drug, originally sold as a cough treatment. "Heroin" was a Bayer trademark, until World War I
*Methadone
*Prontosil as the firstsulfonamide
*Mustard gas — a blister-causingchemical weapon
*Tabun — anerve agent
*Ciprofloxacin — anantibiotic used to treatanthrax and urinary tract infections.
*Levitra — a treatment forErectile Dysfunction
*Polyurethane — a very versatile polymer for a wide variety of applications
*Polycarbonate — the material of the CD,Lego etc. (Makrolon )
*Suramin
*Parathion and
*Propoxur , two importantinsecticides Logo
The company's corporate logo, the "Bayer cross", was introduced in 1904. It consists of the horizontal word "BAYER" crossed with the vertical word "BAYER", both words sharing the "Y", and enclosed in a circle. An illuminated version of the logo lights up the skyline of
Leverkusen , where Bayer is headquartered. Installed in 1958, this is the largest illuminated advertisement in the world.Operations
In order to separate operational and strategic managements, Bayer AG was reorganized into a
holding company in December 2003. The group's core businesses were transformed into limited companies, each controlled by Bayer AG. These companies are: Bayer CropScience AG; Bayer HealthCare AG; Bayer MaterialScience AG and Bayer Chemicals AG, and the three service limited companies Bayer Technology ServicesGmbH , Bayer Business Services GmbH and Bayer Industry Services GmbH & Co. OHG.Following Bayer's successful reorganization, its chemicals activities (with the exception of H.C. Starck and Wolff Walsrode) were combined with certain components of the polymers segment to form the new company
Lanxess . This change took place on July 1, 2004, with Lanxess listed on theFrankfurt Stock Exchange in early 2005. Bayer HealthCare's Diagnostics Division was acquired bySiemens Medical Solutions in January 2007.Bayer AG shares are listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the
London Stock Exchange and used to be listed on theNew York Stock Exchange . On September 5, 2007, [http://www.bayer.com/en/News-Detail.aspx?id=10140 Bayer announced] its intention to file for delisting of itsAmerican Depositary Share s (ADSs) from the NYSE. It is also planned to de-register with theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and thereby terminate the respective reporting obligations.Bayer is governed by a board of management, consisting of:
Klaus Kühn ,Wolfgang Plischke ,Richard Pott , andWerner Wenning . [ [http://www.press.bayer.com/baynews/baynews.nsf/id/EN_Werner_Wenning?open BAYNEWS - The Bayer Press Server - Werner Wenning ] ]In 2004 Bayer HealthCare AG acquired the OTC Pharmaceutical Division of Roche Pharmaceuticals.
On March 13, 2006,
Merck KGaA announced a €14.6bn bid forSchering AG. Merck's takeover bid was surpassed by Bayer's (successful) $19.5bn white-knight bid for Schering on March 23, 2006.On March 11, 2008, Bayer HealthCare announced an agreement to acquire the portfolio and OTC division of privately owned
Sagmel, Inc. , a US-based company that markets over-the-counter medications in most of theCommonwealth of Independent States countries such asRussia ,Ukraine ,Kazakhstan ,Belarus , and others. This deal is aimed at boosting Bayer HealthCare sales and market share in the above-mentioned region and expected to be finished by the end of 2008. [ [http://www.bayer.com/en/News-Detail.aspx?id=10657 Bayer HealthCare to acquire OTC Business of Sagmel, Inc] , official press release] cite news |url = http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aAbNG8blrsgk&refer=germany |title = Bayer Buys Over-the-Counter Health Unit From Sagmel |work = Bloomberg |date=2008-03-11]Divisions
*
Germany - headquarters of the holding company as well as the subsidiary companies Bayer CropScience, Bayer HealthCare, andBayer MaterialScience
*Belgium - including production facilities for Makrolon (in Antwerp)
*Canada - Toronto headquarters and offices in Ottawa and Calgary; manufacturing facility in Sarnia, Ontario
*France - including European headquarters of Bayer CropScience (in Lyon)
*Italy - including 5 production facilities
*Philippines - including production ofCanesten ,Autan andBaygon .
* USA*
Australia
*Argentina
*Aruba
*Bahamas
*Barbados
*Bolivia
*Cambodia
*Chile
*China
*Costa Rica
*Cuba
*Curaçao
*Dominican Republic
*Ecuador
*El Salvador
*Guatemala
*Honduras
*Hungary
*India
*Indonesia
*Jamaica
*Japan
*Laos
*Mexico
*Myanmar
*New Zealand
*Nicaragua
*Paraguay
*Peru
*Panama
*Poland
*Serbia
*Singapore
*South Africa
*South Korea
*Spain
*Switzerland
*Thailand
*Trinidad and Tobago
*Turkey
*United Kingdom
*Uruguay
*Venezuela
*Vietnam Bayer Animal Health
Bayer HealthCare's Animal Health Division is the maker of Advantage Multi (imidacloprid + moxidectin) Topical Solution for dogs and cats, Advantage flea control for cats and dogs and
K9 Advantix , a flea, tick, and mosquito control product for dogs. Advantage Multi,K9 Advantix and Advantage are trademarks of Bayer. The division specializes in parasite control and prescription pharmaceuticals for dogs, cats, horses, and cattle. North American operation for the Animal Health Division are headquartered in Shawnee, Kansas. Bayer Animal Health is a division of Bayer HealthCare LLC, one of the world's leading healthcare companies.Bayer CropScience
In 2002 Bayer AG acquired
Aventis CropScience and fused it with their own agrochemicals division (Bayer Pflanzenschutz or "Crop Protection") to form Bayer CropScience. The company is now one of the world's leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection (i.e.pesticides ), non-agricultural pest control,seeds andplant biotechnology . In addition to conventional agrochemical business it is involved in genetic engineering of food. The Belgian biotech companyPlant Genetic Systems , became part of the company by the acquisition of Aventis CropScience.Bayer CropScience is involved in a joint project with
Archer Daniels Midland Company andDaimler AG to developjatropha as abiofuel [cite web
url=http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-7153-1-1035042-1-0-0-0-0-0-8-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-1.html
title=Archer Daniels Midland Company, Bayer CropScience and Daimler to Cooperate in Jatropha Biodiesel Project
publisher=DaimlerChrysler] .Bayer Healthcare
In 2007 Bayer has taken over Schering Healthcare. The acquisition of Schering was the largest take-over in Bayer’s history.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
In 1904, the company founded the sports club TuS 04 ("Turn- und Spielverein der Farbenfabriken vorm. Friedr. Bayer & Co."), later SV Bayer 04 ("Sportvereinigung Bayer 04 Leverkusen"), finally becoming
TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen ("Turn- und Sportverein") in 1984, generally however known simply asBayer 04 Leverkusen . The club is best known for its soccer team, but has been involved in many other sports, including athletics, fencing, team handball, volleyball, boxing, and basketball. TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen is one of the largest sports clubs in Germany. The company also supports similar clubs at other company sites, including Dormagen (particularly handball), Wuppertal (particularly volleyball), and Krefeld-Uerdingen (featuring another former Bundesliga football club, SC Bayer 05 Uerdingen, now KFC Uerdingen 05). [ [http://www.bayer04.de/B04/de/_site_index.aspx Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fussball GmbH ] ]However, due to cost factors, the company has decided to cut back its sponsoring of its top sports teams in most areas. The sponsoring agreements with first and second-division teams in basketball, team handball, and volleyball, as well as in olympic-level athletics and fencing, will be terminated in 2008 or 2010. Despite their many successes (multiple German national championships as well as numerous Olympic medals), they are not considered to be valuable enough as a marketing tool in terms of their cost-to-benefit ratio. Only the very "telegenic" football (soccer) team, whose marketing value is very high due the exposure in the media and the popularity of the sport itself, will continue to be supported as in the past. General sponsoring of sport for youth and for handicapped people will also be continued as in the past. [ [http://www.sport.bayer.de/de/Bayer-Foerderkonzept-1.aspx Bayer Sport - Bayer-Förderkonzept ] ]
Controversies
Nazi chairman and aspirin discoverer
In his book "
Aspirin : The Story of a Wonder Drug", byDiarmuid Jeffreys , Mr. Jeffreys states that: :― Bayer AG sponsored the experiments ofNazi Dr.Josef Mengele . In 1956 Fritz ter Meer became chairman of Bayer "after" having been sentenced at theNuremberg trials to seven years' imprisonment for his part in carrying out experiments on human subjects atAuschwitz .:― The Bayer chemist who first found an
aspirin formulation which was tolerable in thehuman stomach and did not have the unpleasantside effects ofnausea andgastric pain wasArthur Eichengrün . He also invented the name aspirin and was the first person to use the new formulation to test its safety and efficacy. However, Eichengrün was excluded from the official version of Bayer's history in 1934 because of hisJewish origin. Instead, it was claimed by Bayer that aspirin was "discovered" by an "Aryan " scientist,Felix Hoffman , to alleviate the sufferings of hisrheumatic father. Bayer AG publishes beliefs in the latter. Mr. Jeffreys' claims are widely reflected in other publications and official records, [http://www.rsc.org/pdf/pressoffice/1999/annconf99press3.pdf] [ [http://www.angelfire.com/ok4/Aspirin/ Aspirin ] ] [ [http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/286/5437/39c Aspirin's Paternity Debated - 286 (5437): 39 - Science ] ] [ [http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19990907/ige07098.html Nazis denied Jewish scientist credit for discovery of aspirin ] ] [ [http://pubs.acs.org/journals/pharmcent/company5.html The Pharmaceutical Century - Organizational portraits ] ] [ [http://www.ahrp.org/testimonypresentations/EPApesticide.php Should EPA Accept Human Pesticide Experiments ] ] although they are also disputed in other publications. [ [http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/321/7276/1591#12342 bmj.com Rapid Responses for Sneader, 321 (7276) 1591-1594 ] ]
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