Bayer bets big on mainland's biopharma sector

Buoyed by China's innovative pharmaceutical sector and favorable policies, German life sciences company Bayer is upbeat about the Chinese market and will keep investing in it, a senior executive said.

Stefan Oelrich, member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG and head of its Pharmaceuticals Division, said: "China continues to be a great source of innovation. Especially speaking of startups in the biotech sector, China is emerging as a real powerhouse in the world, as the quality of innovations is constantly improving as we go along."

"China is one of our absolute top markets in the world. The potential of China keeps growing as the economy in China continues to be dynamic. The country is opening more accesses to innovation. It has also become a hotbed for innovation itself. Today in our industry, you cannot be a leader if you don't have strong ties with China," Oelrich said.

He noted that in the process of China's development, Bayer's business position has improved. In China, the company has been able to replace some of its old products with new ones, including products in oncology, kidney disease and heart failure, and it expects to introduce more innovative products here in the future.

On Nov 15, Bayer will officially open its Bayer E-Town Open Innovation Center in Beijing. Together with Bayer Co Lab in Shanghai, the two centers are expected to serve as "dual innovation engines" in China, aiming to drive innovation at every stage of the biopharmaceutical value chain, said the company.

Specifically, the innovation center will focus on supporting transformation of scientific research achievements, co-creation of research clinical wards, digital innovation, talent and think tank development, and the incubation of local innovations.

"We're excited to be part of the innovation ecosystem in Beijing and look forward to codeveloping these sorts of innovation with local partner startups and universities — and taking it to the next level," said the company.

The recently concluded Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China underscored the importance of enhancing the overall performance of China's innovation system, raising its innovation capacity across the board, striving to take a leading position in scientific and technological development, and keep fostering new quality productive forces.

China should promote advances in original innovation and breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields, according to the communique it issued.

"The Five-Year Plans served China well during the past 70 years. And they gave our multinational corporations a good outlook on what is probably going to happen in the coming years, and they allowed us to have stability and the ability to forecast our investments, given that we can expect a stable environment that favors innovation, and also favors the development of our industry. I believe that the biopharmaceutical sector is clearly a priority in this plan. That's something that we very much welcome," Oelrich said.

Speaking of future strategic plans in China, Oelrich said Bayer will continue to work with local academies and startups to foster innovations in the pharmaceutical sector.

"We want to clearly be part of them, and we are part of them," he said.

zhengyiran@chinadaily.com.cn