Bayer HealthCare Announces Recipients of 2009 International Hemophilia Nursing Fellowship

Bayer HealthCare Announces Recipients of 2009 International Hemophilia Nursing
Fellowship
Nursing Professionals from Developing Countries Expand Hemophilia Knowledge
and Training Practices through Global Learning Exchange

BOSTON, July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Bayer HealthCare announced today the
recipients of the 2009 World Federation of Hemophilia's International
Hemophilia Nursing Fellowship. This Bayer-supported initiative provides
hemophilia education and training to nurses in developing countries - areas
where hemophilia-trained healthcare professionals are in short supply. Three
recipients were selected out of a pool of 59 applications from eight
countries.

"Worldwide, about 70 percent of people with hemophilia go undiagnosed, and 75
percent do not receive adequate treatment, the majority of whom live in
developing countries," said Mark Skinner, president, World Federation of
Hemophilia (WFH). "Providing nursing professionals from these areas with the
necessary training and tools to recognize and treat hemophilia is critical to
improving the lives of thousands of people living with the disorder. We
appreciate the support Bayer has provided to this program to make it a
success."

This year's fellowship winners are:
-- Dayang Sumarni Binti Abd Aziz from Malaysia, to be trained in
Melbourne,
Australia
-- Blanca Nieves Maradiaga Duarte from Honduras, to be trained in
Houston,
USA

-- Ana Josefa Garcia Sierra from Dominican Republic, to be trained in
Buenos Aires, Argentina

The winners will travel to their assigned WFH-designated International
Hemophilia Training Center (IHTC) to be paired with a certified hemophilia
nurse for four to eight weeks of clinical and laboratory training. Seventeen
nursing professionals have received this award since the program's inception
in 2005, bringing much-needed skills and training to their communities and
serving as a vital resource for thousands of hemophilia patients and their
families.

"It is a great privilege to be one of the nurses selected for this prestigious
fellowship," said Dayang Sumarni Binti Abd Aziz, nursing fellowship award
winner from Malaysia. "The program will not only allow me to learn the skills
necessary to help my patients with hemophilia, but the knowledge that I'm
making a difference for future generations of my beloved country."

"We would like to congratulate this year's fellowship recipients, and thank
them for their passion and dedication to improving the standard of care for
hemophilia patients around the world," said Michael E. Mathews, vice president
and therapeutic area head, Hematology, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals.
"These fellowships provide a remarkable opportunity for recipients to receive
the training necessary to help people with hemophilia within their
communities."

Bayer HealthCare serves as the exclusive sponsor of the WFH initiative,
further demonstrating its leadership and commitment to support improving the
quality of care for all people living with hemophilia. In addition, the
company has shown its dedication to the global hemophilia community in many
additional ways, including: donating product, both directly and through the
WFH, to address humanitarian needs; funding hemophilia research and education
through the Bayer Hemophilia Awards Program; and supporting leadership
training programs -- such as Step Up Reach Out and the National Youth
Leadership Institute -- to help develop the next generation of advocates
within the bleeding disorders community.

About the International Hemophilia Nursing Fellowship Program
Through Bayer's exclusive support, the International Hemophilia Nursing
Fellowship Program supports three to four nurses annually to travel to one of
the 31 WFH-designated International Hemophilia Training Centers (IHTCs).
There, they are paired with a hemophilia nurse to receive clinical and
laboratory training. Since the fellowship's inception in 2005, award
recipients have trained at facilities across the globe, from Spain and
Thailand to Australia and Argentina. For more information visit: www.wfh.org.

About Hemophilia A
Hemophilia A, also known as factor VIII deficiency or classic hemophilia, is
largely an inherited bleeding disorder in which one of the proteins needed to
form blood clots in the body is missing or reduced. Hemophilia A is the most
common type of hemophilia and is characterized by prolonged or spontaneous
bleeding, especially into the muscles, joints, or internal organs.
Approximately 400,000 people around the world have hemophilia A.

About Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. is the U.S.-based pharmaceuticals unit
of Bayer HealthCare LLC, a subsidiary of Bayer Corporation. 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 U.S., Bayer
HealthCare Pharmaceuticals comprises the following business units: Diagnostic
Imaging, General Medicine, Specialty Medicine and Women's Healthcare. The
company's aim is to provide products that will improve human health worldwide
by diagnosing, preventing and treating diseases.

Forward-looking statements
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 annual and interim reports filed with
the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to
update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or
developments.

USA-BHC-2009-0341

SOURCE Bayer HealthCare

Sreejit Mohan of Bayer HealthCare, +1-510-705-5477