Bayer Pursues Divestiture of Plasma Business

Kogenate® Business Not Included as Part of Initiative

07-Oct-2003

Bayer AG announced that it is initiating a process to divest its plasma business which is part of the Biological Products (BP) division. The Kogenate® line of products and hemophilia franchise is not included as part of this initiative.

Bayer BP division will continue to pursue new technologies and maintain reliable supplies of safe products. "Our technology expertise, exciting product line, demonstrated safety expertise, and product pipeline will allow us to continue to provide reliable, high-quality products and services to extend and improve patients' lives," said Dr. Gunnar Riemann, President, Bayer Biological Products. "Our deep pipeline of new products, together with our solid market presence with Prolastin for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and Gamunex and Gamimune N for immune disorders, allows us to work from a position of strength as we pursue this process."

The plasma business recorded sales of EUR 679 million in 2002; sales in the first half of 2003 reached EUR 293 million. The unit, which is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States, employs around 1,350 people, the vast majority of them in the U.S. The range of biological products derived from blood plasma includes drugs such as Polyglobin®/Gamimune® for the treatment of immunodeficiency disorders and Prolastin® for the therapy of congenital pulmonary emphysema.

In August 2003, Bayer was granted marketing authorization in the U.S. for Gamunex®, a next-generation intravenous immunoglobulin which had also received regulatory approval in Canada shortly beforehand. This new drug from Bayer Biological Products is the first immunoglobulin in the past ten years to be developed completely from scratch. Gamunex® is manufactured in a new, state-of-the-art facility in Clayton, North Carolina.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/29296/bayer-pursues-divestiture-of-plasma-business.html