Astepro® Allergy, First and Only Steroid-Free Antihistamine Nasal Spray Now Available Over-the-Counter

Allergy relief starts working in just 30 minutes, so nasal allergies won’t slow you down

Bayer announced today that prescription-strength Astepro® Allergy (Azelastine HCI .15%) is now available over-the-counter (OTC) in retail stores nationwide. It is the first and only OTC steroid-free, antihistamine nasal spray for indoor and outdoor allergies, and the only OTC allergy spray that starts working in 30 minutes, while others take hours.

Astepro® Allergy provides temporary relief of nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing and itchy nose due to hay fever or other upper respiratory allergies to adults and children 6 years of age and older. The treatment, which received prescription-to-OTC approval from the FDA last year, will provide more than 50 million Americans who suffer from allergies each year access toⁱ ready anytime, fast allergy relief.

“At Bayer, our mission is to provide products that allow people to live healthier lives every day, and that means providing proven relief from their seasonal and indoor allergies symptoms any time they strike,” said Catherine Vennat, VP/GM, Upper Respiratory, Bayer Consumer Health U.S. “Allergy sufferers now have access to the fastest, 24-hour nasal allergy medicine available OTC with steroid-free Astepro® Allergy – a breakthrough in the category. With the sheer speed of our product, allergy sufferers can embrace the moment without worrying about when they will feel relief.”

This prescription-strength OTC formulation includes a number of benefits, one of which is flexible once or twice daily dosing that provides up to 24-hour relief. Other nasal allergy sprays require three to four days of continuous use for full effectiveness. Astepro® Allergy is available nationwide at mass retail locations. For more information, please visit https://www.asteproallergy.com/ or follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

About Bayer

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to benefit people by supporting efforts to overcome the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development, and the Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2019, the Group employed around 104,000 people and had sales of 43.5 billion euros. Capital expenditures amounted to 2.9 billion euros, R&D expenses to 5.3 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer 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 which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

ⁱ American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Fast Fact. 2014. https://acaai.org/news/facts-statistics/allergies

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