Bayer’s chief pharmaceutical officer told Reuters that Bayer plans to spend $1 billion on drug research and development in the United States this year, as it strives to double its sales in the country by the end of the decade. This decision comes within the framework of rebalancing the investments of the German company, which decided to make Europe a less priority and focus on the United States and China.
Bayer’s chief pharmaceutical officer told Reuters that Bayer plans to spend $1 billion on drug research and development in the United States this year, as it strives to double its sales in the country by the end of the decade.
Sebastian GuthThe head of Bayer’s pharmaceutical operations in the United States said in an interview that the company has increased the number of American employees involved in marketing its pharmaceutical operations by about 50 percent in the past three years and expects to increase this number by other employees. 75% by 2030.
“It is time to redouble our efforts in the United States,” Guth said, noting that Bayer intends to sell the drugs it develops directly in the country, rather than partnering with American companies as it has done in the past.
Bayer is looking to boost its portfolio of new drugs in hopes of improving share prices, which have been slumped by concerns about litigation over herbicides and a lack of confidence in the company’s leadership.
The company named a new CEO last month, and put in place the former CEO of Roche Bill Anderson to replace the CEO Werner Bowmanwho previously said he would remain in office until the end of his current term in April 2024.
Guth said he expects peak sales of 12 billion euros from cancer drug Nubeqa, kidney drug Kerendia and two major pipeline products, an investigational stroke drug asundexian and investigative women’s health Elizanate. He said he expected more than half of those sales to come from the United States.
This decision comes within the framework of rebalancing the investments of the German company, which decided to make Europe less of a priority. Stefan Ulrich, head of the pharmaceutical sector of the German conglomerate, two months ago, on the occasion of JPMorgan Healthcare in San Francisco, told the Financial Times that Europe has become “hostile to innovation” because politicians make it difficult to achieve commercial returns on their investments. He added that an expansion of the UK’s medicines tax, which is designed to curb spending on medicines in the NHS, and similar plans in Germany are hampering investment.
“Europe is really making huge mistakes,” he said in an interview at the conference. European governments try to create incentives to invest in research, but they make our lives miserable commercially. If you don’t have sales, you can tap as much as you want on the cost side, but that’s not a good equation,” Oelrich said.
He added that Bayer is focusing on the United States and China, where its pharmaceutical division has already established a significant market presence. Beijing is increasingly supportive of innovation, Ulrich said, while higher drug prices in the United States are allowing the company to offset the cost explosion caused by rising inflation. “We are really making our footprint and moving our commercial resources away from Europe,” he added.
The pharmaceutical industry is increasingly concerned about new fees and taxes in Europe that threaten profits. Industry has warned that this threatens to undermine EU and UK policymakers’ ambition to make their countries leaders in life sciences research and innovation.
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