Bangkok--7 May--Spark Communications
2014 – 2013 was a record year for Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals division in the Asia Pacific region. The division’s key markets in the region including Thailand contributed to its strong growth rate in Asia Pacific.
Global sales of Bayer HealthCare pharmaceutical division increased by 9.4 percent1 in 2013 to EUR 11,188 million while in Asia Pacific region sales grew by 14.9 percent[1] to EUR 3,016 million, doubling growth over the previous year and making Asia Pacific the fastest growing region for the division. This was largely attributable to gains posted by the recently launched pharmaceutical products.
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals was the fastest growing multinational company in the Asia Pacific region[2] among the 20 largest multinational pharma companies in the world in 2013, according to IMS data.
The Bayer group plans to spend more than EUR 11 billion in R&D activities in the years 2014 to 2016. Nearly two thirds of the R&D investment is assigned to Bayer HealthCare. Currently, the pharmaceutical development pipeline is well stocked, with 44 development compounds in Phase I to III of clinical testing. The company’s outlook remains positive with the plan of five new drug candidates to be progressed into Phase III clinical development by 2015. These new compounds in cardiology, anemia, oncology and gynecology therapies will have the potential to treat various difficult-to-treat diseases prevelant also in Asian populations.
Bringing new therapies to Thai patients
In Thailand, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals plans to launch five highly innovative new products in nine indications and further extend the indication areas for recently launched products by mid-2015. Alp Atay, General Manager of Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Division, Bayer Thai Co., Ltd., said, “We are committed to bringing in products and innovation to improve the lives of people in Thailand. Apart from maintaining our leading position in women’s healthcare, cardiovascular, diabetes, antiinfectives and liver cancer, we have an innovative pipeline to serve unmet medical needs over the coming years and, we plan to launch new specialty products for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration, endometriosis, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary hypertension as well as for the management of cancer including prostate, colorectal and thyroid cancers. With three new targeted therapies, we are hoping to address unmet medical needs of late-stage cancer patients, who previously had no other treatment options.”
In parallel, Thai patients are increasingly involved in clinical trials conducted by Bayer HealthCare. About 52 clinical trials have been conducted in Thailand since 2005 and 11 trials are still ongoing. The aim is to systematically include Thai patients earlier in global drug development to ensure an earlier access to innovative medicines for them.