Draegerwerk KGaA : ESA Prize 2016 for Professor Patrick Meybohm

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No. 47 / 02 June 2016

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ESA Prize 2016 for Professor Patrick Meybohm Randomized study investigated the efficacy of remote ischemic preconditioning before heart surgeries Lübeck/London/Frankfurt a.M. - This year's "ESA Prize in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine" is awarded to Professor Patrick Meybohm of University Hospital Frankfurt. The European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA) awarded the researcher with this prize for his study with the title "A Multicenter Trial of Remote Ischemic Preconditioning for Heart Surgery"1. Dräger, a leading international company in the fields of medical and safety technology, donated 10,000 euros in prize money.

Professor Wolfgang Buhre, chairman of the scientific committee at the ESA, awarded the prize during the Euroanaesthesia 2016 together with Michael Wilkening, Head of Upstream Marketing in the Hospital Segment at Dräger.

The study by the German team around Professor Meybohm that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in October 2015 led to a result not expected by the experts. The study investigated the question whether circulatory problems and reperfusion injuries could be reduced by remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) before a heart surgery. Positive signals from previous observations and smaller studies in this area could not be confirmed by means of the large, randomized study with 1,385 patients from 14 German University Hospitals (Aachen, Berlin, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Giessen, Göttingen, Jena, Kiel, Lübeck, Magdeburg, Mainz, Rostock, Würzburg).

Ischemic and reperfusion damage due to circulatory disturbances occur as a result of insufficient blood circulation of the affected tissue and then when restoring blood circulation. The purpose of remote ischemic preconditioning is to create a resistance to such damage in the organ to be operated - in this case, the heart. To achieve this, ischemia is created intentionally before the

1 "A Multicenter Trial of Remote Ischemic Preconditioning for Heart Surgery - Meybohm P, et al. N Engl J Med. 2015 Oct 8;373(15):1397-407. Area: Clinical Research. Patrick Meybohm (University Hospital Frankfurt Germany)

Contact

Corporate Communications: Melanie Kamann

Tel +49 451 882-3998

melanie.kamann@draeger.com

Investor Relations: Thomas Fischler

Tel +49 451 882-2685

thomas.fischler@draeger.com

Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA Moislinger Allee 53-55

23558 Lübeck, Germany www.draeger.com

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No. 47 / 02 June 2016

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surgery in another body part (e.g. arm or leg) in defined time periods using simple technical means. In different cases, the systemic effects triggered this way led to an increased ischemia resistance in the remote organ, which resulted in the assumption that this was a method that could be applied.

The study under the leadership of Professor Meybohm contradicted this assumption: It could not find a cardioprotective effect of the method based on the event rates (death, heart attack, stroke, etc.) in the first two weeks after the surgery. Even after 30 and 60 days, the event rate curves were practically identical in both groups - the group that received the treatment and the one that was operated without the respective measures.

"The article has significantly contributed to our knowledge in the field of cardioprotection in the perioperative period. Moreover, this work is a relevant contribution, demonstrating that experimental results cannot easily be extrapolated to the bedside and that adequately powered clinical trials are needed to verify these experimental results. It is a matter of fact, that clinical research not only ends up with positive results," Prof. Buhre explains the decision of the ESA jury.

ESA Prize awarded for the tenth time

The ESA Prize in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine is bestowed every year on a team of researchers working in anesthetics or intensive care. It is intended to strengthen the cooperation in teams and promote the cooperation among hospitals and companies in scientific research. The prize is awarded to scientific papers published over the course of the previous year. In 2007, it was awarded for the first time.

Dräger. Technology for Life®

Dräger is an international leader in the fields of medical and safety technology. Our products protect, support and save lives. Founded in 1889, Dräger generated revenues of around EUR

2.6 billion in 2015. The Dräger Group is currently present in more than 190 countries and has more than 13,000 employees worldwide. Please visit www.draeger.com for more information.

Contact

Corporate Communications: Melanie Kamann

Tel +49 451 882-3998

melanie.kamann@draeger.com

Investor Relations: Thomas Fischler

Tel +49 451 882-2685

thomas.fischler@draeger.com

Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA Moislinger Allee 53-55

23558 Lübeck, Germany www.draeger.com

www.twitter.com/DraegerNews www.facebook.com/DraegerGlobal www.youtube.com/Draeger