The highly distinguished Awards Committee of the Galien Foundation has honoured Bayer’s Xarelto (rivaroxaban) with the Prix Galien International 2010 in the category Best Pharmaceutical Agent. Xarelto had previously already been recognised with national Prix Galien awards in Belgium, France and Switzerland.

The Prix Galien Award recognizes outstanding achievements in improving health through the development of innovative therapies, and is regarded as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in biopharmaceutical research. The Awards Committee of the Prix Galien International 2010, including many Nobel Prize Laureates, was chaired by Gerald Weissmann, professor of Rheumatology and director of Biotechnology Study Centre, New York University School of Medicine. The award ceremony was hosted in the 'American Museum of Natural History' in New York (USA).

“We are very excited about the award and honoured by the recognition of this globally renowned Committee. Being awarded the International Prix Galien for Best Pharmaceutical Agent underscores the drive for innovation that characterizes the focus of our company, and our continuing ambition to improve the quality of life of patients,” commented Dr Marijn Dekkers, chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer AG, “Xarelto has consistently demonstrated superior efficacy compared to current standard therapy for the prevention of venous thromboembolism in patients undergoing total hip or knee replacement surgery and has become the market leader among the new oral anticoagulants.”

Rivaroxaban is a novel oral anticoagulant that was invented in Bayer Schering Pharma’s Wuppertal laboratories in Germany, and is being jointly developed by Bayer HealthCare and Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C.