Dr Chuan Kit Foo, Head of Medical Affairs, Bayer Pharmaceuticals Division Asia / Pacific answers questions of media at the conference in Singapore. — VNS Photo

SINGAPORE (Biz Hub) — Bayer allocated more than a half of its total research and development (R&D) investment to its pharmaceuticals division, a senior company official has said.

Claus Zieler, new senior vice-president and head of Commercial Operations, Bayer Pharmaceuticals Division Asia Pacific, said that in 2016, the company plans to increase R&D investment globally to around 4.5 billion euros from 4.3 billion euros in 2015.

On the sidelines of a conference held in Singapore, he told Viet Nam News that Viet Nam is one of the company's important markets that is set to becoming a larger one like Thailand, having recorded the fastest industry growth in the region last year.

He noted that Viet Nam has been making significant investments in upgrading its healthcare infrastructure.

The company affirmed at the conference that it will continue to accelerate its pipeline and focus on life cycle management for launched products.

In Asia Pacific, the focus will be on areas with high unmet medical need including hematology, cardiology, ophthalmology, oncology and gynecology, it said.

Collaboration with partners in R&D will continue to be developed to open innovative approaches, company representatives stressed.

"The major challenge relating to health can not be solved by individual companies. Collaborations are not an option but a must," said Chuan Kit Foo, head of Medical Affairs, Bayer Pharmaceuticals Asia Pacific.

"The company will continue working hand in hand with its partners in R&D to identify the best possible therapies to tackle major health threats in Asia. Ensuring that the population in Asia Pacific is well represented in our early clinical development activities is crucial to our approach towards developing therapies tailored to the needs of Asian patients," he said.

In addition, clinical trials will further developed in 2016.

In recent years, the company has initiated robust clinical development programmes for its pharmaceuticals division in the region, under which patients have been systematically recruited as part of global clinical trials.

In the Asia Pacific region, the number of ongoing clinical trials that Bayer has conducted has more than tripled from 21 in 2007 to 68 in 2015. Three new oncology studies and two cardiology studies began in eight countries across the region last year.

The conference heard that last year was a successful one for the company's pharmaceuticals business in Asia Pacific.

It reported a growth of over 7 per cent in sales to 4 million euros.

This is the fifth consecutive year of robust growth for the pharmaceuticals business in the region. Company officials attributed this success to the launch of new products.

According to global health intelligence agency IMS 2015 data, the pharmaceuticals business of Bayer remains one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical multinational companies and among the top 10 in value sales in the region.

Viet Nam last year was the market with highest growth, at more than 30 per cent. It was followed by South Korea with 20 per cent, India with over 10 per cent, Malaysia with over 9 per cent and Thailand with more than 8 per cent. — VNS