Bayer: Science For A Better Life - research - Interview Dr. Wolfgang Plischke

Interview Dr. Wolfgang Plischke

Innovations are the engine for success

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Dr. Wolfgang Plischke joined the Board of Management of Bayer AG on March 1, 2006. He is responsible for Innovation, Technology and Environment, as well as for the Asia-Pacific region.

But doesn’t this apply to other companies too? How does Bayer differ from its competitors?

There are considerable differences. At Bayer, we have a unique starting position. Our combined experience with people, animals, plants and materials opens up ever new opportunities for us. And it is at the interfaces between these various areas and disciplines that innovations often materialize.

For example?

At the moment we are using biotechnology to conduct research into the possibility of using plants to manufacture medicines. Or take medical technology, for example: here we are developing products such as dressings for chronic wounds in which pharmaceutical active ingredients are embedded to prevent infections. Such projects, which lie outside of the subgroups’ current core activities, are maintained by Bayer Innovation GmbH. This company aims to develop innovative ideas into workable concepts.

And what about new developments in the individual subgroups?

They are very good. Just take the future Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany*. Here we already have numerous promising medicines in the last phase before the market launch. For example, we are testing whether our drug Nexavar, which is already on the market in many countries for the treatment of kidney cancer, can also be used to treat advanced liver cancer or metastatic melanoma. Another example is our Factor Xa inhibitor, which has so far shown convincing results for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation.

These are all Bayer developments. What contributions will come from Schering?

Here too, we have some key innovations in the pipeline. One example is Betaferon, a drug for the treatment of multiple sclerosis which is already on the market. The largest study carried out to date is currently investigating whether the efficacy of Betaferon can be further increased by doubling the dosage. In Oncology, we are currently conducting a broad-based clinical Phase II development program involving our novel active ingredient ZK-EPO for the treatment of various solid tumors.

What is the situation at Bayer CropScience?

Here we are the world’s number one supplier in conventional crop protection. To maintain and expand this position, we have to intensify our research and development activities. I feel we’re on the right track in this regard. In the next five years, ten different projects are poised for market launch: two insecticides, three fungicides and five herbicides. The goal here is to be generating more than 50 percent of our crop protection sales with patent-protected products within the next ten years. We also intend to decisively strengthen the BioScience Business Group, where the research budget will be expanded from currently around EUR 80 million annually to considerably more than EUR 200 million in 2015.

Let's turn to Bayer MaterialScience now; what are you focusing on here?

Two notable business models have recently emerged from this subgroup: the start-up company Lyttron, which specializes in the manufacture of luminescent three-dimensional films, and the start of production of carbon nanotubes, which have the ability to significantly increase the strength and conductivity of plastics. Under the motto “Transformational Growth”, Bayer MaterialScience aims to extend the innovation process by exploiting promising technological trends in a more targeted manner. It is hoped rapidly developed, market-oriented ideas will generate considerable additional value for the company’s core business. In addition to films and nanotechnology, promising areas of focus include intelligent surfaces, catalysis and holographic storage media.

Bayer Technology Services is also active in research. What is it concentrating on?

This service company develops innovative methods and interdisciplinary know-how across subgroup lines. Examples here include the Smart Factory, a production facility of the future, or system biology, which aims to support drug development and application by means of computer simulations. Finally, there is the development of convenient biochips that can be used to analyze blood, plants or even food products for undesired elements. Bayer Technology Services is intensively focusing on all of these themes of the future.

Are you collaborating with universities or other external partners in these research activities?

Yes, we support more than 800 scientific alliances worldwide – from life sciences to process technology, from research scholarships to endowed professorships. In this connection, we concentrate on discovering active ingredients for medicines or crop protection products, on material science and on key areas of the future, such as biotechnology and nano-technology. The constant interchange with scientists around the world provides us with new impulses and ideas. This is essential for Bayer, because we thrive on innovation.

The names "Bayer Schering Pharma" or "Schering" as used in this publication always refer to Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Berlin, Germany, or its predecessor, Schering AG, Berlin, Germany, respectively.