Bayer HealthCare concludes divestment of anti-infectives research to Santo Holding AG

Jobs in Wuppertal to be retained

24-Mar-2006

Bayer HealthCare (BHC) has concluded the divestment of its anti-infectives research to Santo Holding AG, Stuttgart, Germany. Bayer HealthCare will retain a minority holding in the newly established company AiCuris GmbH & Co. KG. The majority owners are Dr. Andreas Strüngmann, Dr. Thomas Strüngmann and their families. No information about the financial aspects of the transaction has been announced.

"The divestment that has now been concluded according to plan has allowed us to retain valuable jobs and thus strength the Wuppertal research site. I am certain that the highly qualified staff will enjoy a productive environment in the new company," explained Dr. Gunnar Riemann, Head of BHC's Pharmaceuticals Division.

AiCuris GmbH & Co. KG will be headquartered in Bayer HealthCare's Pharma-und Chemiepark in Wuppertal, Germany. The company will be headed by Professor Helga Rübsamen-Waigmann, formerly responsible for anti-infectives research at Bayer HealthCare. Some 30 staff will work under the roof of the new company in future, where they will conduct research into new active substances to treat diseases caused by viral and bacterial infections. In addition to searching for hospital antibiotics, the company will also conduct research in the fields of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), hepatitis C and B virus, HIV and herpes virus. All of these research products are designed to counter microbial resistance to existing medicines or to provide new treatment options for life threatening infections. The projects involve exclusively new substance classes.

AiCuris will take over various development products and research projects from BHC as well as patent rights and licenses. Bayer HealthCare will place its high-performance technology platform and product development know-how at the new company's disposal in the context of limited-period service agreements.

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