Bayer has outlined its ambitious plans for 2015, with five new medicines expected to deliver combined sales of €5.5bn by 2015.
The German company’s expectations are high for it yet to be approved riociguat and alpharadin (radium-223 chloride), as well as the recently launched Stivarga, Eylea, and Xarelto.
The latter four had already been identified as potential big sellers for Bayer, but the company has added riociguat to its portfolio of key products following the drug’s recent submission for approval in the US and EU to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension.
As for the others, alpharadin is currently under fast-track review by the US FDA for castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), with Bayer expecting to launch before the end of 2013.
Stivarga (regorafenib) was approved last year in the US for use in the treatment of both metastatic colorectal cancer and advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST), and Eylea (aflibercept), which was developed in partnership with Regeneron, is available in both the US and Europe for eye disorder wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Anticoagulant Xarelto (rivaroxaban) is emerging as the company’s lead product, however, following multiple approvals worldwide, including indications in deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE) and the prevention of stroke in people with atrial fibrillation.
Bayer said it expects Xarelto alone to achieve sales of more than €2bn by 2015.
Growth in the sales of these drugs are expected to boost already strong revenues for Bayer, with the company posting an increase in total group sales of 8.8 per cent to €39.8bn for 2012.
Sales for Bayer Healthcare, the company’s pharmaceutical and consumer health division, were up by a similar proportion, increasing 8.4 per cent to €18.6bn.
Specifically, pharmaceutical products were up 4.2 per cent to €10.8bn, with current strong performers including its multiple sclerosis drug Betaferon/Betaseron (beta interferon 1b), which saw revenues climb 4.2 per cent, while sales of the blood-clotting product Kogenate (antihaemophilic factor) were up by 5.2 per cent.
This helped overcome a decline in sales of the Yaz contraceptive franchise, which lost patent exclusivity during 2012.