Bayer still aims for top-10 position in Pharma

Germany’s Bayer (BAY: DE) is still confident that it can become a top-10 gobal pharmaceutical company, given its strong R&D pipeline with four potential blockbusters and also some acquisitions, the firm’s chief executive, Marijn Dekkers, told journalists at the annual financial results conference in Leverkusen this week (see also separate results story The Pharma Letter February 29.

Apart from pharmaceuticals (including animal health), Bayer is involved in crop sciences and material sciences, and Dr Dekkers believes it is important for the company to be a leader in all of its activities. In a question and answer session, he said Bayer is interested in acquisitions if the right opportunity comes up, but declined to comment on any intent to buy Pfizer's animal health unit, which is for sale, only describing it as "a great business."

Asked about Bayer’s slightly unambitious sales forecasts of 37 billion euros (49.8 billion) for 2012 compared with 36.5 billion in 2011, he respond by noting that the company’s sales and profits are at a “record level,” so “treading water is not so bad.” However, given that Dr Dekkers is only 15 months into the CEO job, perhaps a little caution on future expectations is wise. He also noted that, whilst the company has started rolling out some new drug products, “real profit” from these will “not really start kicking in until 2013.

Europe not a pharma acquisition focus

Speaking informally to TPL’s editor, Jorg Reinhardt, chief executive of the Bayer HealthCare unit, said that acquisitions in Europe were not a primary objective, while those in the USA could be interesting but are likely to be expensive. A target could be Latin America, and Dr Reinhardt indicated that an investment of $5 billion to $10 billion could “happily” be accommodated, noting however, that an acquisition of this size would only add around $2 billion in annual sales.

Discussing newer drug products, he noted that Nexavar (sorafenib) for kidney disorders, with sales of 750 million euros in 2011, was probably reaching its peak because of intense competition in the sector. However, he said the drug is doing well in Japan and in China, where it is not reimbursed. Notwithstanding, he noted that new clinical data on Nexavar in thyroid and non-small cell lung cancer was expected during the next six months, and such new indications, if approved, could benefit future revenues.

Dr Reinhardt also revealed that Phase III data on riociguat, being investigated for the treatment of chronic thromboembolic and pulmonary hypertension, is expected in the second half of this year. This market, currently dominated by Swiss biotech firm Actelion’s Tracleer (bosentan), is attractive.

Oncology drug candidates regorafenib (for colorectal cancer) and Alpharadin (radium-223 chloride, for bone metastasis in prostate cancer) have both completed successful Phase III studies and are due for regulatory filings in the first half of this year and mid-2012, respectively.

He also said that florbetaban, which makes beta-amyloid plaques visible with respect to Alzheimer’s disease, has completed Phase III testing and is moving ahead “quite nicely;” the company is now in talks with the US Food and Drug Administration. As for the “female Viagra” product acquired from Canada’s EndoCeutics (TPL October 6, 2010), he said that was “sort of off the radar.”