FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                      CONTACT:
NFL-73                      9/30/04                                                     Matt Hill, NFL, 212-450-2080
                                                                                                Hillm@nfl.com

NFL.COM VOTERS SELECT

COLTS QB PEYTON MANNING & RAVENS RB JAMAL LEWIS

AS WEEK 3 FEDEX AIR & GROUND NFL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Quarterback PEYTON MANNING of the Indianapolis Colts and running back JAMAL LEWIS of the Baltimore Ravens are the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week for games played on September 26-27, the NFL announced today.

Manning passed for 393 yards and five touchdowns, completing 28 of 40 attempts for a 140.9 passer rating in the Colts’ 45-31 victory over the Green Bay Packers. All five of Manning’s touchdown passes came in the first half, including three in the first quarter.

Lewis carried 18 times for 186 yards and one touchdown in the Ravens’ 23-9 win against the AFC North-rival Cincinnati Bengals. Lewis’ touchdown came on a 75-yard burst in the fourth quarter.

Manning and Lewis were selected from among finalists in air and ground categories through 71,420 fan votes. The other FedEx Express NFL Player of the Week finalists were Green Bay Packers quarterback BRETT FAVRE and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback DONOVAN MC NABB, while New York Giants running back TIKI BARBER and New Orleans Saints running back AARON STECKER were the other finalists for the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week.

Fans voted for more than their favorite players. The weekly FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week Awards are also a win for the local community. Along with the player awards, FedEx is awarding Riley Hospital for Children and Union Memorial Hospital, the Children’s Hospital in each winning market, a check for $5,000.

The children’s hospitals in the two season-long winner’s markets, announced at this year’s Super Bowl, will be awarded $25,000 each. That means that FedEx will deliver nearly $250,000 to local children’s hospitals around the country in recognition of the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week Award winners.

FedEx, the premier global provider of transportation, e-commerce and supply-chain management services, is the Official Delivery Service Sponsor of the NFL, Super Bowl and Pro Bowl. Through the weekly FedEx Air and Ground awards, FedEx recognizes those NFL players who represent the same speed, precision and teamwork that their customers have come to expect from the full range of FedEx air, ground, freight and international shipping services.

2004 FEDEX AIR & GROUND NFL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

	EXPRESS (AIR)	Charity	GROUND	Charity
Wk 1	Donovan McNabb, Phi.	Children's Hospital of Philadelphia	Curtis Martin, NYJ	Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital
Wk 2	Aaron Brooks, NO	Children's Hospital of New Orleans	DeShaun Foster, Car.	Children's Hospital at Carolinas Medical Center
Wk 3	Peyton Manning, Ind.	Riley Hospital for Children	Jamal Lewis, Bal.	Union Memorial Hospital

Seth Rubin Matt Hill

Alan Taylor Communications National Football League

212-714-1280 ext. 353 212-450-2080

seth@alantaylor.com Mhill@nfl.com

JOE HORN’S TOUCHDOWN RECEPTION NAMED THE WEEK THREE “LEVITRAâ (vardenafil HCI) PLAY OF WEEK”

NEW YORK—SEPTEMBER 30, 2004 – New Orleans Saints wide receiver Joe Horn’s nine-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Aaron Brooks against the St. Louis Rams has been voted the “LEVITRA^â (vardenafil HCI) PLAY OF THE WEEK” for NFL games played September 26-27.

Horn’s touchdown reception is now eligible to be selected as the “LEVITRA^â PLAY OF THE YEAR,” awarded this February at Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, Florida. The “LEVITRA^â PLAY OF THE WEEK,” which is voted on by fans each week throughout the NFL season from Tuesday at noon ET to Thursday at noon ET on NFL.com, is presented each Thursday and recognizes the single most exciting play that week.

Fans who vote at NFL.com each week can also enter for their chance to win a three-day/two-night trip for two to Jacksonville, Florida to attend Super Bowl XXXIX on February 6, 2005, including round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations.

With 8:35 remaining in the game, Brooks connected with Horn for a nine-yard touchdown. Brooks’ pass was deflected by a St. Louis Rams defender, forcing Horn to reach backwards to make the catch. The touchdown gave the Saints a 22-17 lead. New Orleans went on to beat St. Louis 28-25 in overtime.

Horn’s touchdown catch edged out Houston Texans safety Marcus Coleman’s 102-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs in fan voting on NFL.com. For details and video of this week’s nominees and the results of fan voting, please visit NFL.com/playoftheweek.

In July 2003, Bayer Pharmaceutical Corporation (Bayer) & GlaxoSmithKline(GSK), co-marketers of LEVITRA (vardenafil HCI), a prescription medicine that is used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED), announced their groundbreaking sponsorship of the NFL.

Week	Player	Play Description
1	Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia	Three-yard TD pass to Terrell Owens against the Giants
2	Roy Williams, Detroit	14-yard TD reception from Joey Harrington against the Texans
3	Joe Horn, New Orleans	Nine-yard TD reception from Aaron Brooks against the Rams

About LEVITRA

LEVITRA is a prescription medicine that is used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED). Men taking nitrate drugs, often used to control chest pain (also known as angina), should not take LEVITRA. Men who use alpha blockers, sometimes prescribed for high blood pressure or prostate problems, also should not take LEVITRA. Such combinations could cause blood pressure to drop to an unsafe level.

You should not take LEVITRA if your doctor determines that sexual activity poses a health risk for you. Men who experience an erection for more than four hours should seek immediate medical attention. LEVITRA does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases.

The starting dose of LEVITRA is 10 mg taken no more than once per day. Your doctor will decide the dose that is right for you. In patients taking certain medications such as ritonavir, indinavir, ketoconazole, itraconazole, and erythromycin, lower doses of LEVITRA are recommended, and time between doses of LEVITRA may need to be extended.

In clinical trials, the most commonly reported side effects were headache, flushing, and stuffy or runny nose. LEVITRA is available in 2.5-mg, 5-mg, 10-mg, and 20-mg tablets.

About Erectile Dysfunction

The consistent or recurrent inability of a man to attain and/or maintain a penile erection sufficient for sexual performance¹ – is a common health condition among men that is largely untreated. It is estimated that some degree of ED affects more than one half of all men over the age of 40²– 152 million men worldwide³and 30 million men in the United States alone.⁴

Despite the high prevalence of sexual problems, nine out of 10 men in the U.S. have not yet sought treatment from a physician.⁵

1. Jardin A, Wagner G, Khoury S, et al. Recommendations of the 1^st International Consultation on Erectile Dysfunction. Co-sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO), International Consultation on Urological Diseases (ICUD) and Societe Internationale d’Urologie (SIU) and held July 1-3, 1999, Paris. 2000, p. 713.

2. Feldman HA, Goldstein I, Hatzichristou DG, et al. Impotence and its medical and psychosocial correlates: results of the Massachusetts Male Aging Study. J Urol 1994;151:54-61.

3. Aytac IA, McKinlay JB, Krane RI. The likely worldwide increase of erectile dysfunction between 1995 and 2025 and some possible policy consequences. BJU Int 1999;84:50-56

4. National Institutes of Health, Consensus Development Conference Statement, December 7-9, 1992. Online data: http://odp.od.nih.gov/consensus/cons/091/091_statement.htm. (accessed 8/26/02).

5. Laumann EO, Paik A, Rosen RC. Sexual dysfunction in the United States: prevalence and predictors. JAMA 1999;281:537-544.

About Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation (www.bayerpharma.com) is part of the worldwide operations of Bayer HealthCare AG, a subgroup of Bayer AG. Bayer HealthCare, with sales of approximately 8.9 billion Euro in 2003, is one of the world’s leading, innovative companies in the health care and medical products industry. The company combines the global activities of the divisions Animal Health, Biological Products, Consumer Care, Diagnostics Professional Testing Systems and Diagnostics Self Testing Systems and Pharmaceuticals. 34,600 people are employed by Bayer HealthCare worldwide.

Our aim is to discover and manufacture innovative products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. Our products enhance well-being and quality of life by diagnosing, preventing and treating disease.

This news release contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports filed with the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (including its Form 20-F). Bayer assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

GlaxoSmithKline – one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.