Bayer
German multinational pharmaceutical, chemical, and agricultural biotechnology company
Bayer AG (English: , commonly pronounced ; German: [ˈbaɪɐ] ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies and biomedical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's areas of business include pharmaceuticals, consumer healthcare products, agricultural chemicals, seeds and biotechnology products. The company is a component of the EURO STOXX 50 stock market index.
Bayer was founded in 1863 in Barmen as a partnership between dye salesman Friedrich Bayer (1825–1880) and dyer Johann Friedrich Weskott (1821–1876). The company was established as a dyestuffs producer, but the versatility of aniline chemistry led Bayer to expand its business into other areas. In 1899, Bayer launched the compound acetylsalicylic acid under the trademarked name Aspirin. Aspirin is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. In 2021, it was the 34th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 17 million prescriptions.
In 1904, Bayer received a trademark for the "Bayer Cross" logo, which was, from 1910, subsequently stamped onto each aspirin tablet, creating an enduring brand image. Other commonly known products initially commercialized by Bayer include heroin, phenobarbital, polyurethanes, and polycarbonates.
“Bayer” enters the record as german multinational pharmaceutical, chemical, and agricultural biotechnology company. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Bayer, German and multinational can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q152051. VIAF identifies the subject as 134841299. The Library of Congress control number is n97053225. 3 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 3 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1863, 1825, 1880 and 1821.
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This entry incorporates text from “Bayer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.