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Bayer’s CEO in Spain and Portugal states that “one day gene therapies will stop talking about treating to cure.”
He was born in 1973 in Mexico City. berdo’s opinion He has been CEO of Bayer in Spain and Portugal since 2018. The company grew 7% in the country last year in health through gene and cell therapies and in food with more sustainable products. CEO take into account the challenges faced in the context of current uncertainty.
– Since the drugs are in a regulated market, prices cannot be increased without the approval of the Administration. How is the pharmaceutical industry in general and Bayer in particular dealing with current inflation?
-It’s a tough moment because we are in the midst of a geopolitical crisis, we have a stressed value chain with rising raw material prices and generally high levels of inflation. We cannot reflect this on price increases in the final product. For this reason, first of all, I would like to emphasize that the pharmaceutical industry shows great solidarity and contributes greatly to the sustainability of the health system. On the other hand, we believe that this impossibility in raising prices will be reviewed and access to medicine will be earlier than today.
-What do you suggest about it?
-Different agencies in the industry have great difficulty in maintaining their profit margins. After the difficult times experienced with anxiety and great responsibility during the pandemic process. With the system in which we operate in order of reference price in Spain, even the prices of drugs fall as other drugs that require review of the class arrive. Therefore, one of the initiatives we propose as an industry is that essential and strategic drugs can leave the reference price ranking, for example, by recognizing disruptive innovation, incremental innovation or essential and strategic drugs. If this is successful, the price cut spiral will not be there and will allow us to maintain our competitiveness a little bit healthier. In fact, any drug identified as strategic, necessary, or relevant for the country should be likely to see its price revised so that it has healthy commercial viability and avoids disruption to the supply chain.
It takes an average of 15 months for a drug to be approved in Spain.
– Sometimes even more than 15 months. Open, transparent and predictable processes are important to us and we are working towards this as the industry. We are also collaborating with the central government to develop a strategic plan for the pharmaceutical industry that could review early and broad access to innovations for Spanish patients; medicine at the same time as a French.
-How much can this margin be reduced in Spain compared to other countries?
-It depends a lot on the country, as each has different stages, but in Germany, for example, it can be found on the market the day after it is approved by the European Medicines Agency. It is clear that we are significantly behind most of the largest and most important European countries. Spain is a European-level leader in clinical research and could equally be a leader in terms of access and speed of access to these innovations.
“Any strategic drug should be able to see its price revised”
There has been a shortage of some drugs that have been widely consumed in pharmacies for a few months. Could there be an increase in incidents?
-We work in close cooperation with the Spanish Medicines Agency, and whenever we see a risk of shortages at any time, we report it and take action in this regard. We have had a regular supply to the market for several years.
How important is biotechnology for the future of this industry?
Biotechnology is very important. I believe there is something decisive in the field of pharmaceuticals that will truly mark a before and after because of the many things it will allow to achieve. And we position ourselves at the tip of the spear through our cell and gene therapy platform. We are committed to what we call the biorevolution in the development of these therapies, which at some point will allow us to start talking about treatment and stop talking about treatment. This is important for diseases that currently have some treatment or no solution and may have alternatives in the future. A few years ago, there were about 180 million people on the planet with hepatitis C without a solution, and today there is already a cure. Important now for Parkinson’s: In phase 1 clinical trials, we are working on an alternative that allows to restore the function that caused it through various treatments.
The Spanish Government has promised to make the country a center for pharmaceutical production. What will be the most important steps to be taken on this path?
– A strategic framework should be established that provides clarity, is predictable and stable, so they come here confident they can see a return on investment while improving access to medicines.
-What is Bayer’s role in this scenario?
-We are lucky to have production centers for both human health and agriculture. And we are constantly updating our infrastructure. We have recently completed a 60 million Euro investment plan at our factory in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid). We have also made significant investments to expand the production lines at our factory in La Felguera (Asturias). And all this investment capacity in both infrastructure and innovation has earned us the excellent award in the Propharma program. Therefore, we will continue to be determined and work in this direction.
What impact will European funds have in these areas?
-We think PERTEs are a very good tool to bring in European funds. We would like to think that these funds will really create traction in the Spanish economy and both the health and food sectors in which we are involved; We hope this happens. Through Farmaindustria we presented a project of 40 companies to strengthen everything that makes up the fabric of industrial production in Spain with around 1,800 million euros, but nothing concrete has been implemented to date.
Bayer is increasing its investment in agricultural research and development by more than 19%. What innovative tools do farmers have and which ones will they buy for sustainable growth?
-We work with three strategic axes. First of all, on crop protection, with both chemical and biological solutions available to farmers. We also develop high-value seeds so that crops are much more resistant to harsh weather conditions such as drought and even wind. And finally, we also provide digital solutions so that they can make a much more informed and more precise decision. For example, with precision farming, farmers are allowed to have a much more sustainable, much greater productivity and a much more relevant operation to them. There is also FieldView, a tool that works via satellite technology and sensors that lets you know all agricultural processes in the field in real time and determine actions in a timely manner. In this way, operations are carried out only in the needed areas of your crops. This protects the environment, reduces CO2 emissions and makes your investments in the field much more efficient.
What new drugs will be brought to the market by the company in 2023?
– Among them, I would like to highlight one that we have just launched and already on the market for symptomatic chronic heart failure. I’ll also be talking about Kerendia, a product for type 2 diabetes-related chronic kidney disease, which we expect will arrive this year based on price-payback periods. This will have the highest incidence at the population level, as it addresses a disease that is expected to reach 15% of Hispanic adults and one-third of patients with type 2 diabetes. We also recently approved it at the Spanish Agency level. An additional indication for our prostate cancer drug that we’re so excited about drugs. And we are in talks with the authorities to bring Entrectinib, a sensitive oncology drug with pediatric indications, agnostic to all kinds of tumors, to the market.
Related news
-What are the pillars of Bayer’s short-term growth?
Innovation and science are the pillars of growth in our three divisions Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Health and Herbal Science, and we always aim to make the greatest possible impact of our innovations in the hundreds of segments we participate in.
“Talking to a growing population and adapting to the biggest challenges: volatility”
The company said it expects lower operating profit in 2023 due to current cost inflation. How could this increase in costs threaten Spain?
-We work with the goal of having an infrastructure that can work more efficiently every day. We also work on energy efficiency programs, rainwater harvesting and water efficiency, circular economy. a more sustainable way.
Are there any new achievements on your radar for 2023?
-The company constantly evaluates opportunities. As soon as an opportunity is interesting enough, it will try to make it happen.
-What are the main challenges for the future?
Addressing the growing population at a time when natural resources are being eroded. We will need more food and medicine, we will live longer. On the other hand, the context has become much more volatile. Crises come every year and we must be flexible and agile enough to adapt and react quickly.