Bayer's third-quarter sales came in a bit higher than anticipated, but the company is girding its loins for a challenging period ahead as generic competition and litigation liabilities bed in.
Pharma sales growth was lacklustre, up 0.4% to €4.34 billion, although encouraging gains for new products Nubeqa (darolutamide) for prostate cancer and kidney disease therapy Kerendia (finerenone), up 56% and 85%, respectively, helped counter weakness in older brands like anti-clotting therapy Xarelto (rivaroxaban).
Another bright spot was a new high-strength version of eye drug Eylea (aflibercept), which has helped to soften the blow of biosimilar competition to the original formulation as it can be dosed less frequently.
The growth of the stronger product – which now accounts for more than a quarter of Eylea sales – allowed Bayer to predict "stable" sales for the franchise overall this year compared to 2024. Overall, Eylea sales fell 11% to €731 million in the third quarter, but were just 0.9% down for the first nine months of the year.
Chief executive Bill Anderson said that Bayer is in "a strong position" to deliver on its upgraded guidance for operating earnings of €9.7 to €10.2 billion for the full year, compared to €10.1 billion in 2024, despite the lingering threat of big payouts in litigation relating to claims its Roundup glyphosate-based herbicide causes cancer.
It had to pay €934 million in litigation-related costs in the third quarter, but Anderson said he expects to be able to "significantly contain the litigation risk by the end of 2026."
Bayer also updated on its ongoing reduction in workforce numbers, saying the total number of shed full-time positions had risen from around 12,000 at the end of the second quarter to 13,500, reducing its headcount to around 88,500 worldwide.
2025 is considered a critical year for Bayer as Anderson works through the turnaround plan, which revolves mainly around the removal of management layers to cut costs and envisages a return to reliable growth for the group next year.
The CEO said the group is also preparing for its next major pharma launch – Lynkuet (elinzanetant), a hormone-free treatment for symptoms associated with the menopause – in the US later this month.
The drug, which claimed its first approvals earlier this year, is the first direct competition to Astellas' Veozah/Veoza (fezolinetant), which has made relatively modest sales since its approval in 2023.
Both drugs are being positioned as alternatives to conventional hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for vasomotor symptoms (VMS) like hot flushes and night sweats associated with menopause, with some analysts predicting they have blockbuster sales potential.
https://pharmaphorum.com/news/bayer-beats-expectations-tougher-times-looming
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