Bayer Strengthens Base In Asia With Japan Research Unit

German pharmaceuticals major Bayer AG has established a new pharmaceutical research center in Kansai Science City (near Kyoto), Japan, which it sees as a logical step in the company's further internationalization "because Japan is one of the world's most innovative countries in the field of pharmaceutical research."

The center, which will cost 230 million Deutschemarks to set up and have an initial staff of 120 - working mainly in the field of allergies and immunology, completes Bayer's international research triangle, joining Wuppertal in Germany and West Haven in the USA, where there are similar facilities. Over the next five years it is planned to extend the center at a cost of a further 140 million marks and increase the staff to about 200.

Importance Of Region Speaking at a news conference in Tokyo earlier this month, Bayer chairman and chief executive Manfred Schneider stressed the importance of Asia Pacific to the group, and said the volume of investments in 1995, more than 300 million marks, will be 35% up on the previous year. "We believe we must be a key player in this region if we are to remain a world leader in our industry," he added, "and this is our firm intention."