Products redesigned to help patients simplify life with diabetes

The new CONTOUR can be personalized to best meet patients’ individual treatment needs. In addition to the new meter, Bayer also introduced a redesigned MICROLETTM2 lancing system and new product packaging. Bayer’s new products are designed to help people with diabetes simplify life with diabetes.

In addition to Bayer’s unique No Coding™ technology, small sample size and fast testing time, the new updated CONTOUR is the only meter that offers patients the flexibility to choose, either, "Basic" or "Advanced" levels of testing, to keep the management of their diabetes as simple or as specific as they would like. The new, personalized features in the advanced level include programmable testing reminders and pre- and post-meal markers that provide information on how a meal can affect blood glucose; this feature is particularly helpful for self-adjusting insulin users. The advanced setting also allows users to set their own high and low blood glucose targets that fit their management needs. This setting also provides 7, 14 and 30-day testing averages.

Bayer HealthCare Diabetes Care also introduced the MICROLET 2 lancing system, which will be included with the new CONTOUR system. It has been redesigned to simplify testing. It also has a large release button, smooth silicone-coated lancets and reduced puncture force. Plus it enables easy lancet ejection.

These products presented in new, simplified packaging build upon Bayer’s history of innovation in self blood glucose monitoring devices and provide physicians with new options to help patients of all ages and treatment needs personalize their diabetes management. "A basic component of diabetes management is blood sugar control. To simplify monitoring of blood glucose for better control is a win for both patients and healthcare providers," said Dr. David Martin, European Diabetes Care Division of Bayer HealthCare. "Bayer’s new CONTOUR system, for example, is just one of the ways Bayer is helping to reduce the complexity of diabetes management."

The post-meal reminder feature included in the "Advanced" level of Bayer’s new CONTOUR can be customized at individual times to remind patients to test their blood sugar after meals. In 2007, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) issued recommendations confirming the importance of post-meal testing and glucose control, stating that post-meal hyperglycemia or high blood sugar following meals, can be harmful and may lead to macrovascular disease, such as coronary artery disease (Guideline for Management of Postmeal Glucose, IDF 2007). "People with diabetes should closely monitor their blood glucose levels after meals to reduce the risk of complications, particularly cardiovascular disease," stated Professor Antonio Ceriello, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, UK. "Post-meal glucose control is a critical step in a person’s daily diabetes management regimen, and self-monitoring following meals can help to reduce their risk and may significantly improve their outcomes."

Bayer’s new CONTOUR meter and the new MICROLET 2 lancing device will be launched in various European countries in the coming months starting with Germany and the Nordic countries.

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™ technology. The BREEZE® and CONTOUR® blood glucose monitoring systems offer people with diabetes an unparalleled choice in diabetes management systems.

In July 2006, Bayer HealthCare Diabetes Care acquired Metrika Inc., maker and manufacturer of A1CNow+, a meter-based diabetes monitoring system for measurement of HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin) an important indicator of long term blood sugar control. 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.

Bayer HealthCare
The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, 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, Consumer Care, Diabetes Care and Pharmaceuticals divisions. The pharmaceuticals business operates under the name Bayer Schering Pharma. 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.

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16.09.2008

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• Bayer HealthCare, MEDRAD Europe B.V.