Bayer reduces the management team of its pharmaceutical division by half. This is reported by the newspaper Handelsblatt. From now on, this company will be managed by five managers instead of eleven as until now. The elimination of executive positions is part of Bayer CEO Bill Anderson's restructuring. The top manager of the Leverkusen company begins to implement his four-point plan.
Sebastián Guth becomes director of operations
Effective immediately, Bayer's entire commercial business will be led by a Chief Operating Officer (COO). Sebastian Guth, who previously led the pharmaceutical business in the Americas, will take on this role. The changes are part of the company's new dynamic shared ownership (DSO) strategy. Bayer CEO Anderson hopes the new organizational model will lead to less bureaucracy and faster decision-making processes.
According to these plans, in the future a large part of the Oncology and Global Marketing business units, as well as parts of Medical Affairs and Pharmacovigilance, will be combined into the “Global Marketing” area. Christine Roth, who until now was responsible for oncology, will take on this position.
Stefan Oelrich, member of the board of directors of Pharma, remains
The CEO of the pharmaceutical division, Stefan Oelrich, will remain in his positions, as will Christian Rommel, head of research and development of the pharmaceutical business, and Holger Weintritt, head of the “Product Supply” department.
Anderson is also turning the Bayer group upside down due to problems in the agricultural sector, as the Leverkusen company is involved in numerous glyphosate lawsuits. At the same time, there is currently hardly any supply of new drugs in the pharmaceutical business that could compensate for lost sales if important patents expire.
Cooperation with Thermo Fischer Scientific in cancer diagnosis
To advance cancer diagnosis, Bayer is now cooperating with Thermo Fischer Scientific, reports “finanzen.net”. The companies plan to jointly carry out diagnostic tests based on next generation sequencing (NGS). The goal of the trials is to help discover which patients might benefit from Bayer's cancer therapies.
With the new organizational structure, the group wants to save two billion euros a year until 2026. Anderson emphasized that it is not just about eliminating jobs, but also about changing the way the company works, reducing hierarchical levels and make employees more customer-oriented. It is not yet clear whether other areas of the company will also have to expect staff cuts. Bayer has not yet commented on the matter.