AARC Corporate Partner Program Adds Bayer Diagnostics

Symbiotic Relationship Expected to Advance Respiratory Care

For Immediate Release

DALLAS ( November 20, 2003) – The American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) has added The Diagnostics Division of Bayer HealthCare LLC, a member of the Bayer Group (NYSE:BAY) , to its Corporate Partner Program. The program creates symbiotic relationships between the only professional association for respiratory therapists and the respiratory medical, diagnostic and pharmaceutical industry. Bayer Diagnostics has a long history of developing and delivering innovative blood gas products designed to meet the needs of respiratory therapists and their patients.  

“Companies, such as Bayer, that make up the respiratory care industry are an important part of our community. We rely on them to provide us with the cutting-edge technologies we need to deliver care, and they rely on us to provide input into research and development of their new and ongoing products,” says Kevin Shrake, MA, RRT, FAARC, AARC's Chief Operating Officer.

This alliance will help Bayer Diagnostics create technologies that enable respiratory therapists to better meet the needs of respiratory patients. Bayer Diagnostics can help provide professional support and education, while as a Corporate Partner they can receive input from respiratory health professionals on their research and development projects.

“Bayer Diagnostics and the AARC share a similar mission of advancing respiratory care, while meeting the needs of the respiratory care professional.   We are proud to be a Corporate Partner of the AARC, and expect that our teams' collective enthusiasm, talent and resources will deliver unparalleled benefits to the respiratory care community we serve,” comments Michael Dalton, Director of Blood Gas for Bayer Diagnostics.

About the AARC
The AARC, the only professional membership association for respiratory therapists, focuses primarily on respiratory therapy education and research. Its goals are to ensure that respiratory patients receive safe and effective care from qualified professionals and to benefit respiratory health care providers. The Association continues to advocate, on behalf of pulmonary patients, for appropriate access to respiratory services provided by qualified professionals.

About Bayer Diagnostics
With approximately 7,000 employees worldwide and 2002 sales of $1.9 billion, Bayer Diagnostics (www.bayerdiag.com), based in Tarrytown, New York, U.S.A., is one of the largest diagnostic businesses in the world. The organization supports customers in 100 countries through an extensive portfolio of central, self-testing, nucleic acid and near patient care diagnostics systems and services for use in the assessment and management of health, including the areas of cardiovascular and kidney disease, oncology, virology, women's health and diabetes. Bayer Diagnostics' global headquarters in the United States operates as part of Bayer HealthCare LLC a member of the worldwide Bayer HealthCare group.

About Bayer HealthCare
Bayer HealthCare, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales amounting to some 10 billion Euro, is one of the world's leading, innovative companies in the health care and medical products industry. Bayer HealthCare combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Biological Products, Consumer Care, Diagnostics and Pharmaceuticals divisions. More than 34,000 employees work for Bayer HealthCare worldwide.

Their work at Bayer HealthCare is to discover and manufacture innovative products for the purpose of improving human and animal health worldwide. Their products enhance well-being and quality of life by diagnosing, preventing and treating disease.

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Contact:
Sherry Milligan
Communications Manager
972-406-4690, Milligan@aarc.org