Bayer predicts pharma growth

Bayer has forecast 8% annual growth in pharmaceutical revenue through 2016 on demand for new medicines.

Bayer predicted 6% growth for its crop-science business, the company said in a statement today as executives meet with investors and analysts in Leverkusen, Germany, where the 150-year-old company is based. No specific forecast was issued for the material-science unit, which some analysts speculate may be sold or spun off.

“I’m particularly confident about our healthcare business thanks to the encouraging development of the five pharmaceutical products we have recently launched,” chief executive officer Marijn Dekkers said in the statement.