Landmark Phase III Study of Bayer's Xarelto® (Rivaroxaban) Initiated for the Secondary Prevention of Myocardial Infarcti

        
        - The prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in adult patients with
          non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF) with one or more risk factors in more than 70
          countries worldwide
        - The treatment of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and prevention of recurrent DVT
          and pulmonary embolism (PE) in adults in more than 70 countries worldwide
        - In the U.S. also for the treatment of pulmonary embolism and prevention of
          recurrent PE and DVT in adults
        - The prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in adult patients undergoing
          elective hip or knee replacement surgery in more than 120 countries worldwide

Since the first approval of Xarelto in 2008, more than two and a half million patients worldwide have now received Xareltoin daily clinical practice.

Rivaroxaban was discovered by Bayer HealthCare, and is being jointly developed with Janssen Research & Development, LLC. Xarelto is marketed outside the U.S. by Bayer HealthCare and in the U.S. by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (a Johnson & Johnson Company).

Anticoagulant medicines are potent therapies used to prevent or treat serious illnesses and potentially life threatening conditions. Before initiating therapy with anticoagulant medicines, physicians should carefully assess the benefit and risk for the individual patient.

Responsible use of Xarelto is a high priority for Bayer, and the company has developed a Prescribers Guide [https://prescribe.xarelto.com/scripts/in... ] for physicians and a Xarelto Patient Card [https://prescribe.xarelto.com/scripts/in... ] for patients to support best practices.

To learn more, please visit: https://prescribe.xarelto.com

To learn more about thrombosis, please visit http://www.thrombosisadviser.com

To learn more about Xarelto, please visit http://www.xarelto.com

About Aspirin(R)

Acetylsalicylic acid, the active ingredient in Aspirin(R), has been extensively investigated in more than 200 studies involving more than 200,000 patients across varying levels of cardiovascular (CV) risk. Given the existing body of clinical evidence, low-dose aspirin use in appropriate patients is approved by regulatory authorities around the world for CV event prevention, and supported by major evidence-based clinical guidelines, including those of the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology, European Society of Cardiology, and American College of Chest Physicians.

Based on its proven efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness, low-dose aspirin continues to be the standard of care for reducing heart attacks and ischemic strokes in patients with established CV disease. Additionally, in more than 50 countries around the world, low-dose aspirin is approved for use in the primary prevention of CV events in appropriate at risk patients. When used as directed by a physician, low-dose aspirin is infrequently associated with clinically significant side effects. Serious bleeding rarely occurs. Gastro-intestinal bleeding (GI) has been shown to occur in less than 1% of those taking aspirin to prevent a recurrent CV event; serious GI or extracranial bleeding events are expected in less than 1/10th of one percent (3 in 10,000 people per year) patients taking low-dose aspirin for primary prevention[1]. Bayer supports the use of aspirin for primary prevention only in those markets where the indications have been approved.

About Bayer HealthCare

The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of EUR 17.2 billion (2011), is one of the world's leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Medical Care and Pharmaceuticals divisions. Bayer HealthCare's aim is to discover, develop, manufacture and market products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. Bayer HealthCare has a global workforce of 55,700 employees (Dec 31, 2011) and is represented in more than 100 countries. More information at http://www.healthcare.bayer.com.

Our online press service is just a click away: press.healthcare.bayer.com

Information for editors:

For full multimedia release, including additional material such as videos and backgrounders, please visit http://www.multivu.com/mnr/58642-COMPASS-Study

Find more information at http://www.bayerpharma.com.

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Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup 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 Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at http://www.bayer.com. 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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1. Antithrombotic Trialists' (ATT) Collaboration. Aspirin in the primary and secondary prevention of vascular disease: collaborative meta-analysis of individual participant data from randomised clinical trials. The Lancet 2009; 373:1849-1860

    Video:
    http://www.multivu.com/mnr/58642-COMPASS-Study

CONTACT: Contact: Astrid Kranz, Tel. +49-30-468-12057, E-Mail:astrid.kranz@bayer.com; Stephanie Prate, Tel. +49-30-468-196053, E-Mail:stephanie.prate@bayer.com