Enabling the science of discovery

In the late nineteenth century, a small chemical dye company built a scientific laboratory that set new standards in industrial research. It was there that Felix Hoffmann made an historic discovery — he devised a way to make acetylsalicylic acid in a chemically pure, stable form.

In 1899 it was launched under the name "Aspirin." It made the Bayer brand famous. And it helped people all over the world combat pain, inflammation, and fever.

Today Bayer is still pursuing chemical discoveries that will improve people's lives. This includes new drugs for treating multiple sclerosis, leukemia, cardiovascular disease, cancer, malaria, diabetes, and hemophilia. Responding to an explosion of information in genomic research, the company's researchers are once again setting new standards in industrial research. Using the most advanced tools available. Leveraging scientific findings that are published at an unprecedented rate. Translating lab results into medicines that are safe, effective, and available to the public.

When Bayer planned to convert an existing 12,100-square-foot production facility into a high throughput screening laboratory, it needed a flexible building that would allow users to respond quickly to changes in technology, research, and the science of drug discovery itself.

The finished project not only accommodated such a laboratory, it also provided offices and support areas for 36 staff members. The open robotics lab was designed for ultimate flexibility while encouraging interaction among disciplines. And just as Bayer was leading the industry in the 1890s, the building's design looks to the 21st century. To new challenges. To new innovations.