Bayer AG shares gained as much as 4.7% after the German company raised the forecast for peak sales of its pharmaceuticals to €12 billion ($13 billion).
(Bloomberg) — Bayer AG shares gained as much as 4.7% after the German company raised the forecast for peak sales of its pharmaceuticals to €12 billion ($13 billion).
Bayer predicted Tuesday that sales of its thrombosis treatment asundexian could exceed €5 billion. Revenue from its Nubeqa prostate-cancer drug and its cardio-renal therapy Kerendia could both exceed €3 billion.
The German company is banking on these new medicines being a growth driver in the coming years as it loses patent protection from current blockbuster bloodthinner Xarelto and eye medicine Elyea.
Bayer is hoping, too, that it can boost its pharma earnings with a deeper focus on the US and thanks to some of its other promising experimental therapies, Stefan Oelrich, head of Bayer’s pharma unit, said in the statement, released during the JPMorgan Healthcare conference in San Francisco.
For one thing, the non-hormonal menopause drug elinzanetant has the potential to become a blockbuster, with sales potentially topping $1 billion, Bayer said.
The company is also hoping for success from some of its cell and gene-therapy candidates that are in early-stage clinical trials to treat illnesses including Parkinson’s disease. At this point, it’s hard to estimate potential future sales for these candidates, Oelrich noted, but they could reach into the multi-billion-euro range.
The updated pharma forecast comes a day after activist investor Jeff Ubben’s Inclusive Capital Partners disclosed a 0.83% interest in Bayer, whose shares have slumped since its takeover of agriculture giant Monsanto.
Read more: Activist Investor Jeff Ubben Acquires Stake in Germany’s Bayer
The news offers some momentum for Bayer Chief Executive Officer Werner Baumann, who’s endured plenty of criticism since his $63 billion Monsanto takeover in 2018. Baumann has repeatedly stressed that that deal doesn’t mean he’s any less interested in pharma investments. He insists that Bayer’s business model — which has units for pharmaceuticals, consumer health and crop science — is the right one.
(Updates with information throughout)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.