FT Pharma 2013: Bayer chairman Marijn Dekkers says 'patients don't appreciate us'

Most patients don’t appreciate the pharma companies that save their lives, Bayer chairman and chief executive Marijn Dekkers told the Financial Times Global Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Conference in London today.

Dr Dekkers gave a keynote address before joining in a panel discussion of the reputation of the pharma industry. He said: “Most patients don’t really appreciate the pharma company that might cure them or extend their life. Everybody knows the brand of their mobile phone or their car, but they don’t know who made the drug that saved their life.”

This lack of interest has wider implications, he added, and influences key decision makers.  “If the voters don’t really value the pharma industry, then the politicians won’t either,” he said.