Biopharmaceuticals Radiology Group Purchasing

 News Release - July 23, 2007

Premier Extends Agreement With Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals

Strategic Healthcare Alliance Adds Two Years to Contract for Magnetic Resonance Contrast Media

WAYNE, N.J., July 23 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today that Premier, Inc., has extended its contract with the company by two years. Under the agreement, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals will provide its Magnevist® (gadopentetate dimeglumine) Injection contrast media used for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to members of the Premier network through 2011. The contract was formerly with Berlex, Inc., which is now part of Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals as a result of Bayer's acquisition of Berlex's parent company, Schering AG Germany, earlier this year.

Serving 1,700 hospitals and more than 46,500 other healthcare sites, Premier, Inc. is the largest healthcare alliance in the United States dedicated to improving patient outcomes while safely reducing the cost of care.

"We are very pleased that Premier has further extended the contract and its long-standing relationship with our company. We value Premier's vote of confidence with our product and with the outstanding customer service our sales force provides to the Premier membership and their patient community," said Douglas Stefanelli, Vice President and General Manager, Diagnostic Imaging, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals.

ABOUT MAGNEVIST

Magnevist is the leading MRI contrast agent with the broadest range of FDA approved indications for adult and pediatric patients. Since its introduction, Magnevist has been used in over 80 million procedures worldwide and continues to be the most studied MR contrast agent on the market.

WARNING: NEPHROGENIC SYSTEMIC FIBROSIS

Gadolinium-based contrast agents increase the risk of Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis in patients with:

* acute or chronic severe renal insufficiency (glomerular filtration rate <30 mL/min/1.73 m2), or

* acute renal insufficiency of any severity due to the hepato-renal syndrome or in the perioperative liver transplantation period.

In these patients avoid the use of gadolinium-based contrast agents unless the diagnostic information is essential and not available with non-contrast enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). NSF may result in fatal or debilitating systemic fibrosis affecting the skin, muscle and internal organs. Screen all patients for renal dysfunction by obtaining a history and/or laboratory tests. When administering a gadolinium-based contrast agent, do not exceed the recommended dose and allow a sufficient period of time for elimination of the agent from the body prior to any readministration.

MAGNEVIST® (gadopentetate dimeglumine) injection: As with other contrast media, the possibility of serious or life-threatening anaphylactic or anaphylactoid reactions, including cardiovascular, respiratory and/or cutaneous manifestations, should always be considered. As with other paramagnetic contrast agents, caution should be exercised in patients with renal insufficiency, especially at higher doses. As with other injectable products, cases of phlebitis and thrombophlebitis have been reported; assessment of the dosed limb for the development of injection site reactions is recommended.

Safety and efficacy in children under the age of 2 years have not been established.

About Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. is the U.S.-based pharmaceuticals unit of Bayer HealthCare LLC, a division of Bayer AG. One of the world's leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry, Bayer HealthCare combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Diabetes Care, and Pharmaceuticals divisions. In the US, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals comprises the following business units: Women's Healthcare, Diagnostic Imaging, Specialized Therapeutics, Hematology/Cardiology and Oncology. The company's aim is to discover and manufacture products that will improve human health worldwide by diagnosing, preventing and treating diseases.

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 Form 20-F). The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

Source: Bayer HealthCare

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