His scientific contributions are regarded as classics: the studies about the insulin effect on adipose tissue (together with George F. Cahill Jr. ), his work on the biosyn- thesis and secretion of insulin (together with Lelio Orci and Claes W ollheim) and his studies on various spontaneous and induced diabetes syndromes in rodents (together with Bernard Jeanrenaud and Eleazar Shafrir). Albert Renold will be remembered for a long time by all who knew him for his achievements, for his kindness and his humanity. We dedicate the Proceedings of this symposium to his memory. Werner Creutzfeldt Pierre Lefebvre G6ttingen Liege History and Philosophy of Bayer Pharmaceutical Research W. -D. Busse Fachbereich Forschung Pharma, Bayer AG, D-5600 Wuppertal, FRG Research has a long tradition at Bayer. This year, 1988, marks 100 years of our pharmaceutical activities. In 1888 the first Bayer drug - phenacetin, an antipyreti- was synthesized, starting from a by-product of dye manufacture. This finding led to the establishment of a Pharmaceutical Department within Friedrich Bayer and Co. in Elberfeld, with all its associated facilities (Fig. 1).
The beginning of the company itself, however, dates back to 1863. In that year, Friedrich Bayer started the produc- tion of aniline dyestuffs in his private house in Barmen-Rittershausen. During the 125 years of the company's life and the 100 years of pharmaceuticals, many developments and products have been discovered by Bayer researchers and launched by Bayer.