New Information Sheds Light on Proper Diagnosis of Canine Vector-Borne Disease

Toronto, Ontario, October 24, 2008 -- Veterinary practitioners can now access cutting-edge information on co-infection with vector-borne pathogens in dogs. The Bayer HealthCare, Animal Health CVBD® Digest can be accessed online at http://www.cvbd.org or through your local Bayer HealthCare, Animal Health sales representative.

Blood feeding anthropods can transmit a plethora of pathogens to dogs. Canine vector-borne disease (CVBD) presents a challenge to practitioners since it often varies in clinical appearance. "Often more than one pathogen is transmitted to the dog by the same or different vectors," says Dr. Bruce Kilmer, Director of Technical Services and Regulatory Affairs, Bayer HealthCare, Animal Health in Toronto, Ontario. "This often results in double or even multiple infections, which makes diagnosis and treatment more complex."

To combat CVBD in canines, Bayer HealthCare, Animal Health has called three International Symposia, the first of which was held in 2006. Experts from around the globe, including Dr. Robbin Lindsay of Winnipeg, Manitoba sit as founding members of the symposia. The symposia is the initial step in formally addressing the global threat of canine vector-borne diseases, especially in consideration of increasing international travel and emerging climate change. Of particular concern is the fact that many of the parasite-transmitted diseases affect humans as well as animals. Recent media attention regarding Lyme disease in humans underlies the need to more fully understand the challenges associated with CVBD.

Ticks are especially suitable for pathogen transmission by attaching securely to their hosts and facilitating effective transmission of infectious pathogens over a couple of days. "Many of the diseases caused by these tick-borne pathogens possess a wide variety of clinical features such as wasting, weight loss and fever, which makes a definite diagnosis challenging for the veterinary practitioner," says Dr. Kilmer.

The Bayer HealthCare, Animal Health CVBD® Digest contains relevant findings from the CVBD Symposia. "It is our hope that this leading-edge information will aid practitioners in what can be a difficult clinical diagnosis and also increase their understanding of the complex interaction of different infectious agents and the canine immune system," says Dr. Kilmer.

About Bayer Inc.

Bayer Inc. (Bayer) is a Canadian subsidiary of Bayer AG, an international research-based group with core businesses in health care, crop science, and innovative materials.

Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Bayer Inc. operates the Bayer Group's HealthCare and MaterialScience businesses in Canada. Bayer Crop Science Inc., headquartered in Calgary, Alberta operates as a separate legal entity in Canada. Together, the companies play a vital role in improving the quality of life for Canadians - producing products that fight diseases, protecting crops and animals, and developing high-performance materials for applications in numerous areas of daily life. Canadian Bayer facilities include the Toronto headquarters and offices in Ottawa and Calgary.

Bayer Inc. has approximately 1,000 employees across Canada and had sales of over $986 million CDN in 2007. Globally, the Bayer Group had sales of over 32 billion Euro in 2007. Bayer Inc. invested approximately $45 million CDN in research and development in 2007. Worldwide, the Bayer Group spent the equivalent of over 2.5 billion Euro in 2007 in R&D.

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 www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

For more information contact:

Laura Colpitts

Business Communications Partner                

Bayer Inc.                            

416.240.5466                        

laura.colpitts.b@bayer.com

Colleen Shaw

Public Relations Specialist

Woodruff Sweitzer

403.291.2922

cshaw@woodruffsweitzer.com

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