Milestones in Bayer’s history

1863: Friedrich Bayer and Johann Friedrich Weskott

establish a dyestuffs factory in Barmen. 18 years later, it is
changed into the joint-stock company Farbenfabriken vorm.
Friedr. Bayer & Co.

1884: Chemist Carl Duisberg begins his career at Bayer.

Under his management, Bayer scientists will make
pioneering discoveries.

1888: The pharmaceutical department is established.

1899: Aspirin is registered as a trade mark and becomes the

world’s favourite pain killer.

1912: The company’s headquarters is transferred to

Leverkusen.

1939: Bayer researcher Gerhard Domagk is awarded the

Nobel Prize for Medicine for his discovery of the antibacterial
effect of the sulfonamides (Prontosil).

1972: The company changes its name to Bayer AG.

1988: Bayer becomes the first German industrial company

to be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

1996: On June 3, Bayer's capital stock is redenominated

into shares of DM 5 par value instead of DM 50.

1999: Bayer marks the 100th birthday of Aspirin® by having

professional mountaineers wrap Bayer’s former high-rise
headquarters building in Leverkusen, transforming it into the
world’s biggest Aspirin® pack and earning the company
three entries in the Guinness Book of Records.

2000: The acquisition of the polyols business Lyondell

Chemical Company makes Bayer the world’s biggest
producer of raw materials for polyurethanes.

2001: Bayer acquires Aventis CropScience making it a world

leader in crop protection. In December, Bayer’s management
announces plans to establish independent operating
subsidiaries under the umbrella of a management holding
company.

2002: The Bayer shares are listed for the first time on the
New York Stock Exchange. In October Bayer CropScience
AG is launched as the first legally independent Bayer
subgroup.

2003: WHO includes acetylsalicylic acid, the active

ingredient in Aspirin®, in its “List of essential medicines”.

2003: In October, the subgroups Bayer Chemicals AG and

Bayer HealthCare AG and the service company Bayer
Technology Services GmbH gain legal independence as part
of the reorganisation of the Bayer group. The subgroup
Bayer MaterialScience AG and the service companies Bayer
Business Services GmbH and Bayer Industry Services GmbH
& Co. OHG follow in December.

2004: Bayer becomes the first private-sector partner to

UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) in the area
of youth and environment. Bayer provides material support
and additional funding of EUR1 million annually to promote
various projects over an initial period of three years.

2004: In January the Group's world-famous trademark, the

Bayer Cross, celebrates its centennial.  

2005: Bayer is one of the world’s top three suppliers of non-

prescription medicines after the acquisition of the Roche
OTC business.

2005: Lanxess AG is spun off from the Bayer Group.

Lanxess continues Bayer’s chemical business in Bayer
Chemicals and parts of the polymer business.

2005: In December, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

approves Sorafenib (Nexavar®), an active ingredient jointly
developed by Bayer HealthCare and Onyx Pharmaceuticals
Inc., for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma.

2006: Bayer launches the Group-wide innovation initiative

“Triple-i: inspiration, ideas and innovation”, which calls on all
employees worldwide to participate in the search for new
product, development and business ideas.

2007: Bayer completes the acquisition of Schering AG and

becomes one of the leading players on the market for
specialised pharmaceuticals.

2007: Bayer sells the Diagnostics Division of Bayer

HealthCare to Siemens AG, Munich for EUR4.2 billion.

2007: It is announced that the BayArena stadium, home of

German Bundesliga soccer team Bayer 04 Leverkusen, is to
be modernised and enlarged to accommodate a crowd of
over 30,000.

2007: November sees the launch of the integrated, Group-

wide Bayer Climate Program. The program's goals include a
futher reduction in CO2 emissions from Bayer's production
facilities.

2008:  In June Bayer is presented with the 2008

Environmental Award in the category "Environmentally
Friendly Technologies" by the Federation of German
Industries (bdi). Use of the new oxygen-depolarised cathode
technology reduces power consumption and co2 emissions.

2008:  In October the world's largest MDI production facility

goon stream in Shanghai.
2009:  In November, Bayer implements its zero emissions
building concept for the first time with the opening of a
children's daycare centre in Monheim, Germany.

2009:  In December, a Bayer team wins the German Future

Prize for the development of the anticoagulant rivaroxaban
(Xarelto).

2010: In June the Aspirin Social Award is presented for the

first time. The award honors exemplary social projects in the
health care sector.

2010: Fifty years of successful family planning with the pill:

this innovative contraceptive was first given regulatory
approval in 1960. Till this day Bayer is a global market leader
in the field of hormonal contraception.

2012: In March, Bayer receives approval from the Australian

Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for Eylea™, an eye
medicine for the treatment of wet age-related macular
degeneration.

2013: Bayer celebrates 150 years since the company was

founded.

2015: Bayer MaterialScience has been operating since 1

September under the name Covestro. The company is
economically and legally independent, but initially remains a
subsidiary of Bayer AG. On October 6, the Covestro AG
made her debut on the stock market.

2016: In May Werner Baumann becomes the new CEO of

Bayer AG. Baumann has been a member of the Board of
Management since January 2010 and was most recently
responsible for Strategy and Portfolio Management.

2016: In September Bayer and Monsanto sign a binding

merger agreement.

2017: In November Bayer kicks off „leaps“. This new

approach complements the existing R&D capabilities and
aims to enable breakthrough innovations across healthcare
and agriculture.

2018: Bayer successfully completed the acquisition of

Monsanto on June 7, 2018 following the receipt of all
required approvals from regulatory authorities.

2019: In August, Bayer announces the sale of its Animal

Health business for 7.6 billion U.S. dollars to the U.S.-based
company Elanco Animal Health.

2019: In December, Bayer announces that it will significantly

step-up its sustainability efforts and sets ambitious targets
to be achieved by 2030. Among other things, Bayer aims to
become a carbon neutral company.

Read more about the history of Bayer