Orion Corporation, Bayer’s development and commercialization partner for darolutamide (marketed as Nubeqa®), has updated its net sales potential estimates, projecting that annual tablet sales and royalties recorded by Orion could exceed EUR 1 billion by the end of this decade. After Nubeqa® became Orion’s largest single product, the company based its forecast on scenario planning with Bayer, emphasizing that regulatory approvals, market access in new territories and label expansions in earlier prostate-cancer indications will drive the steep growth curve. While Orion acknowledges uncertainties around timing due to shifting regulatory and market conditions, the EUR 1 billion milestone underscores Nubeqa®’s rising global uptake in metastatic castration-sensitive and non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients.

At the 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Stefan Oelrich, Head of Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals Division, reiterated the company’s goal to restore mid-single-digit percentage growth in its pharma business by no later than 2027 and to lift operating margins to approximately 30% by 2030. He highlighted that five pivotal worldwide approvals in 2025 have validated Bayer’s strategy of combining high-impact product launches with organizational efficiencies. Oelrich cited expanding market penetration of recently launched assets, AI-enabled R&D investments and a delayered commercial model as key drivers to achieving sustainable top-line momentum and margin expansion over the coming years.

Bayer’s late-stage pipeline in cardiovascular and oncology areas advances several high-potential candidates. In cardiology, asundexian, a once-daily oral Factor XIa inhibitor for secondary stroke prevention, met primary endpoints in its Phase III OCEANIC-STROKE trial and has received Fast Track designation from the U.S. FDA. Finerenone (Kerendia®) gained expanded approval for heart-failure patients with left-ventricular ejection fraction ≥ 40% in both the U.S. and Japan, with additional markets under review and Phase III CKM trials ongoing. In oncology, Nubeqa® has treated over 200,000 patients worldwide and is on track for a third approval in China this year. Bayer also secured accelerated approval for Hyrnuo® (sevabertinib) in HER2-mutant non-small cell lung cancer, and its radium-223 dichloride therapy (Xofigo®) demonstrated positive results in the Phase III EORTC PEACE III study, reinforcing Bayer’s foothold in targeted radionuclide therapies for metastatic prostate cancer.