Bayer sets record r&d budget

Bayer plans to invest some €2.3bn in r&d in 2004, a sum believed to be unequalled in the German chemical industry.

Research will focus in particular on the life sciences, with 85% of the entire research budget earmarked for this area.

'Successful and efficient research will be central to the future success of the company,' emphasised Bayer management board chairman Werner Wenning. 'Bayer will continue to back its innovative strengths in the future.

'We intend to remain a research-based group and now aim to focus even more sharply on our core areas of expertise. This was one of the considerations behind the latest reorganisation process and our decision to divest our chemicals business and some of our polymers operations.'

He acknowledged that to focus on research and to use in-house strengths to achieve growth required a concentration of resources in today's difficult economic environment, and stressed that indiscriminate investment is simply not viable.

He said that he sees great benefits in the recent integration of the units of the former Central Research Division into subgroups. 'The greater proximity to the marketing units, and thus to the customer, will intensify communication between the market-based and science-based sections of the company,' he added. 'This will enable us to develop new strengths.'