Bayer announced on April 14 that its pharmaceutical business in China posted sales of 1.6 billion euros ($1.77 billion) in 2015, a 7 percent increase from the previous year.

"The steady business growth of Bayer Pharmaceuticals is the result of our dedicated efforts in harnessing our strong expertise to address the challenge of chronic disease management and introducing innovative products to meet unmet medical needs in China," said Wei Jiang, executive vice-president, Commercial Operations at Bayer Pharmaceuticals China and Asia-Pacific region and managing director of Bayer Pharmaceuticals China.

Wide portfolio of drugs

With China's aging population and shifts in lifestyle, there has been growing demand in the nation for chronic disease management.

According to the National Health and Family Planning Commission in its 2015 Report on Chinese nutrition and chronic disease, 25.2 percent of Chinese aged 18 or above suffer from hypertension, while 9.7 percent suffer from diabetes in 2012.

For every 100,000 persons, according to the report, 533 died from chronic diseases, or 86.6 percent of total deaths.

In response to the growing need for long-term healthcare, Bayer has brought its strong portfolio of products to enable patients in China to lead a healthier life.

Products such as Bayaspirin, Adalat and Glucobay help to prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, two of the most prevalent chronic diseases in China.

Bayer has also adopted a number of innovative methods aimed at providing real-time guidance to patients.

On April 10, Bayer launched the "Power+" Postprandial Glucose Optimization Management Platform in China, which allows patients to better manage their postprandial blood sugar through real-time interaction with doctors.

It also enables doctors to optimize and individualize treatments.

Bayer is working beyond the treatment of diabetes. Its Xarelto product, an oral anticoagulant, has already treated 15 million stroke patients worldwide and was approved for two new indications in 2015 in China, including the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in adult patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

In the battle against cancer, Bayer has continued to advance and translate the science of oncology into effective therapies to help Chinese patients.

In addition to Nexavar, now available in China for the treatment of kidney cancer and liver cancer, an innovative oncology drug aimed at treating colorectal cancer is currently undergoing approval process and is expected to become available on the market in the near future. Colorectal cancer is the third-most prevalent cancer among men and second among women in the world.

Bigger investment push

Innovation continues to be the engine that drives Bayer's business growth. In 2015, Bayer increased its R&D spending by 21 percent to approximately $4.8 billion, more than half of which was assigned to the pharmaceuticals division with a focus on therapeutic areas of cardiology, oncology, hematology and gynecology, said Lang Zhihui, head of medical affairs of Bayer Pharmaceuticals China.

Currently, the company's global pharmaceutical pipeline has more than 50 development compounds in Phase I to III clinical development, with one-third focusing on oncology and another one-third on cardiology.

These promising new compounds are vital in Bayer's commitment to treating diseases in China. To ensure that the Chinese population is well represented in clinical trials, Bayer is increasingly involving Chinese patients in global trials.

The company has 107 completed or ongoing clinical trials in China, nearly three times higher from eight years ago, he said.

Bayer has also established academic collaborations as an innovation strategy.

It has recently strengthened partnerships with Chinese academic institutions such as Tsinghua University, Peking University and the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

After six years of joint research activities under the Bayer-Tsinghua Joint Research Center for Innovative Drug Discovery, Bayer and Tsinghua University renewed its research alliance for another three years in April 2015.

In November 2015, Bayer and Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry signed an agreement to continue its research partnership over the next three years in new synthetic methodology, natural product derivatives and organometallic chemistry.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn