Lower drug sales potential at Bayer underscores the need for deals
Germany’s Bayer, which acquired seed company Monsanto in 2018, reduced its combined sales estimate for its most promising experimental drugs, acknowledging it needs to do more to replenish the development pipeline. At its capital markets day in London on Wednesday, it said the tally of peak sales potential of its five most promising drugs is more than €3.75bn, compared with a target of more than €6bn for the top six drugs reiterated as recently as June. Bayer last week announced the sale of a number of businesses, about 12,000 job cuts and €3.3bn in impairments. Bayer faces a threat to revenues in 2024 when the patent on blockbuster heart drug Xarelto runs out. Sales from eye drug Eylea, its second-best-selling drug, are expected to suffer from competing drugs before that. Bayer said it halted trials testing its experimental uterine fibroids treatment vilaprisan, which it previously expected to generate peak annual sales of more than €1bn, citing the risk of side effects.
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