Bayer shares surged 6.6% on January 14 after partner Orion updated its long-term forecast for Nubeqa® (darolutamide). Orion now estimates that its annual net sales from tablet sales to Bayer plus royalties could exceed EUR 1 billion by the end of the current decade. The jump reflects investor confidence in the prostate-cancer franchise co-developed by Bayer and Orion, with market analysts noting that reaching the EUR 1 billion threshold would position Nubeqa among the company’s top revenue generators in oncology.

At the 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Pharmaceuticals Division head Stefan Oelrich reaffirmed Bayer’s goal to return its pharma business to mid-single-digit percentage sales growth by 2027. He also outlined a plan to lift the division’s operating margin to approximately 30% by 2030 through a combination of portfolio optimization, targeted R&D investments and disciplined cost management. These financial targets build on the recent momentum in oncology and immunology products and aim to restore the segment’s growth trajectory.

Oelrich highlighted that Bayer has added more than a dozen new clinical-stage assets over the past year, including small-molecule candidates in oncology and novel biologics in immunology. He emphasized that innovation remains the lifeblood of the business, noting over 40 ongoing clinical trials across 15 indications. Concurrently, Bayer has implemented a delayered organizational model that reduced management layers by 20% and reallocated resources to front-line research teams. The restructuring is expected to deliver annualized cost savings of EUR 500 million by 2027, funding further R&D expansion and supporting long-term margin improvement.