Bayer targets return to mid-single-digit pharma growth by 2027

By Patricia Weiss

BERLIN, Jan 13 (Reuters) – The pharmaceuticals and agriculture group Bayer aims to return its pharmaceuticals business to mid-single-digit percentage growth by no later than 2027 and lift operating margins to about 30% by 2030, the division’s head Stefan Oelrich said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, Oelrich said operating margin is expected to begin rising from 2028.

The German group is first working through the impact of lost sales after patent protection expired on its blood thinner Xarelto. Oelrich said in September that 2026 would be the final year in which the patent expiry weighs on results.

Bayer expects the next phase of growth to be driven by newer medicines, including prostate cancer treatment Nubeqa, kidney drug Kerendia, heart medicine Beyonttra and Lynkuet, used for menopausal symptoms.

The company is also pinning hopes on anticoagulant Asundexian, which rebounded after a major setback in 2023 and recently delivered positive results in a stroke study.

Oelrich said the company has the first proven effective oral factor XI inhibitor that significantly reduces the risk of a second stroke.

“This is an area where there is just no alternative, and the unmet need is just too high,” he said.

For the 2025 financial year, Bayer reaffirmed its targets for the pharmaceuticals division, forecasting currency- and portfolio-adjusted sales growth of 0% to 3% and an adjusted operating profit margin (EBITDA margin) of 24% to 26%.

Oelrich acknowledged investors’ long-running scepticism about the pharmaceuticals business but struck a confident tone.

“Bayer is a case that has shown that it can actually overcome a very difficult situation.”

(Reporting by Patricia Weiss; Writing by Maria Martinez; Editing by Daniel Wallis)