Bayer Taps Clinical Chief, Sells Stivarga and Goes Carbon-Free in Spain
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Bayer has handed Dr. Christoph Koenen the role of Chief Medical Officer, effective October 1, a promotion that leaves him juggling two jobs at once. Koenen keeps his existing post as Head of Clinical Development and Operations for the Pharmaceuticals division while taking on the medical chief's brief. The appointment lands as the Leverkusen group pushes its development pipeline forward and reshapes its balance sheet at the same time. On the portfolio side, the company has agreed to sell the cancer drug Stivarga to Aachen-based Grünenthal for as much as EUR 375 million, a deal struck in September and still subject to customary regulatory clearances. Divestments of that kind let Bayer shed mature medicines, free up cash and sharpen its focus within pharma. The group is also leaning on debt markets: in September it placed hybrid bonds totaling EUR 2 billion across two 30-year tranches, lifting the outstanding hybrid total to EUR 6.55 billion. Progress in drug development has come on several fronts. The FDA accepted a supplemental approval application for the candidate Lynkuet under an accelerated review, while the Lemiretprocel program picked up orphan-drug status. Bayer also launched the Menopause Advocacy and Policy Alliance in late September, an international coalition aimed at reforming care and education. In consumer health, the group rolled out a recyclable mono-material...
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