Bayer Says Future Is In Consumer Health, R&D

Bayer chairman Manfred Schneider has said that in order to make the company more profitable, the emphasis on the consumer products sector will be intensified, including health care. He added that in the pharmaceutical area, he believed the future lay in the development of new drugs for serious illnesses, such as AIDS, cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

Cooperation with other companies would be undertaken to limit increasing drug R&D costs, he said, adding that Bayer will gain $360 million sales this year from the Sterling Winthrop acquisition (Marketletters passim), and job losses will continue, including a 10% cut in management.