NEWBURY, England, July 13 --

- New DIDGET Meter Transforms Kids Diabetes Experience by Tapping Into Their
Passion for Video Games to Build Consistent Blood Glucose Testing Habits

Bayer Diabetes Care in the UK and Ireland today unveils DIDGET(TM), the first
and only blood glucose meter for kids with diabetes that connects directly to
Nintendo DS(TM) and Nintendo DS(TM) Lite gaming systems. The DIDGET meter is
designed to help kids manage this lifelong condition by rewarding them for
building consistent blood glucose testing habits and meeting personalised
glucose target ranges.

One of the biggest challenges facing parents of children with diabetes is the
constant struggle to instil the habit of regular blood glucose testing that is
critical for consistent diabetes management, says John Gregory, Professor in
Paediatric Endocrinology, Wales School of Medicine, Cardiff University.
Bayer’s DIDGET meter can help ease the parent/child tension that testing
often creates by adding an element of fun and rewards to the routine. Because it
is designed with children in mind, Bayer’s DIDGET meter can transform a
child’s blood glucose testing experience from something they have to do
into something they want to do.

Building on 40 years of experience, the company is now transforming how kids
engage in their diabetes management by tapping into their existing passion for
handheld gaming. Bayer’s DIDGET meter positively reinforces consistent
testing habits by awarding points that kids can use to unlock new game levels
and customise their gaming experience.

The DIDGET meter is a revolutionary development in healthcare management. Up
until now, blood glucose monitors have been created with adults in mind, says
Sandra Peterson, Head of Bayer Medical Care. This product was inspired by a
parent of a child with diabetes, to directly address the challenges facing kids
with diabetes and their parents. Bayer’s DIDGET meter offers play with
purpose to encourage kids to regularly monitor their blood glucose and begin to
view regular testing as fun.

The DIDGET meter, intended for use by kids aged 5-14, will also connect to
Bayer’s DIDGET World (http://www.bayerdidget.co.uk), a new
password-protected web community where kids can spend points that they earn from
consistent monitoring practices and create their own page. Bayer’s DIDGET
World is currently in development and will be available soon.

Bayer’s DIDGET meter grows with a child’s ability to manage his/her
diabetes, offering two testing levels, Basic and Advanced. Self monitoring blood
glucose is an essential tool in the optimal management of childhood and
adolescent diabetes. Self monitoring blood glucose should be prescribed at a
frequency to optimise each child’s diabetes control because frequency of
self monitoring blood glucose correlates with glycaemic control(1).
Bayer’s DIDGET meter is based on Bayer’s trusted CONTOUR(R) system
and uses the same technology and test strips, providing the same easy accuracy,
No Coding(TM) technology, automatic correction for haematocrit and common
interfering substances including maltose, 5 second test time, a small (0.6
microL) sample size and automatic detection of control solution.

Bayer’s DIDGET meter comes with Knock ’Em Downs(TM): World’s
Fair which includes a full length adventure game and mini game arcade.
Bayer’s DIDGET will be available soon. Visit
http://www.bayerdidget.co.ukto find out more and register to be notified when
Bayer’s DIDGET meter is available. Nintendo DS and DS Lite gaming systems
are sold separately.

Bayer Diabetes Care UK is working in partnership with the Juvenile Diabetes
Research Foundation (JDRF) in the UK and GBP5 from the sale of every meter will
be donated to the JDRF.

Diabetes in the UK

An estimated 25,000 children under the age of 18 in the UK have diabetes(2).
Type 1 diabetes, also called juvenile diabetes, is usually diagnosed in children
and young adults. In persons with type 1 diabetes, the body makes little or no
insulin, and therefore people with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin for the
rest of their lives (3). Type 2 diabetes is usually diagnosed in adults,
although increasingly, children are being diagnosed with this condition. Type 2
is associated with obesity, family history of diabetes, history of gestational
diabetes, impaired glucose metabolism, physical inactivity, and race/ethnicity.
In people with type 2 diabetes, the body doesn’t make enough insulin, or
the body is unable to utilise the insulin effectively. There are many therapies
available, including insulin, for people with type 2 diabetes(4). All people
with type 1 and type 2 diabetes must carefully balance food, medications, and
activity level to keep blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible in
order to avoid long term complications of diabetes (5).

About Bayer HealthCare Diabetes Care

Bayer HealthCare, Diabetes Care supports customers in 100 countries and stands
in a long tradition of leading the way in diabetes care product innovation since
the introduction of CLINITEST reagent tablets in 1941. The face of diabetes care
was changed in 1969 when the first portable blood glucose meter and test strips
were introduced. Bayer HealthCare further innovated diabetes management by being
the first company to introduce a suite of blood glucose monitors with No
Coding(TM) technology. The BREEZE(R) 2 and CONTOUR(R) blood glucose monitoring
systems offer people with diabetes an unparalleled choice in diabetes management
systems. Bayer HealthCare Diabetes Care global headquarters is located in
Tarrytown, New York, in the United States and operates as part of Bayer
HealthCare LLC, a member of the worldwide Bayer HealthCare group. The
Headquarters for the region Europe-MERA is located in Basel as part of Bayer
Consumer Care AG, in Basel.

About Bayer HealthCare

The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of
healthcare, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subsidiary of
Bayer AG, 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, Bayer Schering
Pharma, Consumer Care and Medical Care divisions. Bayer HealthCare’s aim
is to discover and manufacture products that will improve human and animal
health worldwide. Find more information at http://www.bayerhealthcare.com.

1. Rewers M, Pihoker C, Donaghue K et al. Assessment and monitoring of glycemic
control in children and adolescents with diabetes. Pediatric Diabetes 2007: 8:
408-418

2. JDRF UK: http://www.jdrf.org.uk/page.asp?section=000100010004

3. NHS: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/diabetes/Pages/Introduction.aspx

4. NHS:
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Diabetes-type2/Pages/Introduction.aspx?url=Pages/what-is-it.aspx

5. NHS: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Diabetes-type2/Pages/Selfhelp.aspx

(Due to the length of the URL number 4, it may be necessary to copy and paste
this hyperlink into your Internet browser’s URL address field. Remove the
space if one exists.)

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.

Collateral available: * Case study (mother and son with diabetes, aged 11
years) * Spokespeople: Bayer; KOL; Diabetes Specialist Nurse; Juvenile Diabetes
Research Foundation (JDRF) + quote * B-Roll * Backgrounders: Bayer 40 year
History; Diabetes Fact Sheet; Bayer Innovations in Diabetes Management Timeline
* Photos of Bayer DIDGET glucose meter.

Media Contacts: Rachel Owen Bayer Diabetes Care +44-1635-563410 +44-7836-509262
rachel.owen.ro@bayer.co.uk Gisela Lenz Bayer HealthCare +49-214-30-58080
gisela.lenz@bayerhealthcare.com

SOURCE: Bayer HealthCare

Media Contacts: Rachel Owen, Bayer Diabetes Care, +44-1635-563410,
+44-7836-509262, rachel.owen.ro@bayer.co.uk. Gisela Lenz, Bayer HealthCare,
+49-214-30-58080, gisela.lenz@bayerhealthcare.com