Bayer HealthCare sees second quarter growth

Bayer’s HealthCare division has experienced growth during the second quarter of the year, helping the group as a whole to achieve better-than-expected results.

The HealthCare business unit, which encompasses Bayer Schering Pharma as well as consumer and animal health activities, saw sales increase to 4.3 billion euros (3.6 billion pounds), a 6.4 per cent improvement on last year.

Pharmaceutical sales grew by 4.3 per cent during the quarter, with double-digit sales increases recorded for products such as Kogenate, Avalox and Nexavar.

Meanwhile, the company’s consumer health operations were among Bayer’s strongest growers, with sales expanding by 10.3 per cent, while medical equipment and animal health products also saw upward trends.

Bayer management board chairman Werner Wenning also added that it will be increasing research expenditure in the coming months in order to “underscore our position as the leading research-based pharmaceutical and chemical company in Germany”.

Last month, Bayer Schering Pharma agreed to collaborate with the People’s Liberation Army General Hospital in Beijing in order to conduct research into women’s health issues.