Bayer Ord Share Discussion Threads

[waldron] 01/7/2008 05:57

Bayer "buy," target price raised
06/30/08 - Deutsche Bank
LONDON, June 30 (newratings.com) - Analyst Tim Jones of Deutsche Bank maintains his "buy" rating on Bayer AG (BAY). The target price has been raised from €67 to €69.

In a research note published this morning, the analyst mentions that a majority of the company's businesses present robust growth prospects. The industry outlook for the CropScience business is extremely healthy in the foreseeable future, aided by demand growth and price increases, the analyst adds. Potentially significant newsflow is expected regarding the development of the pharmaceutical pipeline in Bayer's Healthcare in the next six-to-eighteen months, Deutsche Bank says.

[ariane] 14/2/2008 10:43

Bayer warns of liver damage risk linked to Avelox antibiotic, changes label




LEVERKUSEN, Germany (Thomson Financial) - Bayer AG has warned doctors that
its Avelox antibiotic may lead to potentially fatal liver damage and skin
disease in rare cases, following a routine analysis of recent data on side
effects.
The link between Avelox and the side effects has been known but the analysis
has yielded very rare new cases, prompting the German drug maker to adjust the
labelling of Avelox and informing doctors, a Bayer spokeswoman said, confirming
a report in Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.
Avelox, sold under the name of Avalox in Germany, is used to treat
respiratory and other infections and generated 396 mln eur in sales in 2006.


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lb/ra

[ariane] 09/12/2007 09:07

J&J, Bayer Pill Caused Fewer Clots Than Sanofi Drug in Study

By Lisa Rapaport and Luke Timmerman

Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Bayer AG and Johnson & Johnson's experimental blood thinner led to fewer clots and deaths in patients after hip surgery than a widely used therapy sold by Sanofi-Aventis SA, a study found.

About 1.1 percent of patients had serious blood clots or died on the Bayer and J&J pill, rivaroxaban, compared with 3.7 percent of those taking Sanofi's injected medicine, Lovenox, according to research reported today at the American Society of Hematology meeting in Atlanta. Both drugs had similar rates of bleeding, a side effect of anti-clotting medications.

Rivaroxaban may help J&J and Bayer take market share from the injectable Lovenox, Sanofi's best-seller with $3.5 billion in sales last year. Bayer, Germany's largest drugmaker, asked European regulators to allow sale of the drug under the brand name Xarelto in October, and has projected peak sales of $2.9 billion. J&J, of New Brunswick, New Jersey, has said it will seek U.S. marketing approval in the second half of 2008.

``The results were quite astonishing,'' said Bengt Eriksson, an orthopedic surgeon at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden, and the study's lead author, in an interview. ``It was a big surprise,'' for the new drug to demonstrate superior effectiveness, instead of merely showing about equal effectiveness, he said.

Patients were given either Lovenox or rivaroxaban for five weeks after hip-replacements. Studies of the J&J and Bayer drug in other major orthopedic surgery will be presented Monday.

Dangerous Clots

Blood clots are usually part of the body's healing mechanism. If they form in one of the veins deep in the body, like those in the legs, the jelly-like mass can block blood flow causing the leg to swell. If a clot breaks lose, it can travel to the lungs or brain, a life-threatening situation.

Around 300,000 Americans die every year from these clots, more than the number who die from AIDS, breast cancer and car accidents combined, according to the American Society of Hematology.

``This drug was measured against Lovenox, which is the gold standard, and we got more efficacy without paying a price in terms of any extra bleeding,'' said Lloyd Haskell, a vice president at J&J's pharmaceutical research and development unit, in a telephone interview.

If approved by regulators, rivaroxaban will be marketed by J&J in the U.S. and by Bayer in the rest of the world.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lisa Rapaport in New York at [e-mail]

Last Updated: December 8, 2007 11:14 EST

[waldron] 07/11/2007 17:49

Bayer "buy," target price raised - update

Wednesday, November 07, 2007 9:04:44 AM ET
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasser.

LONDON, November 7 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Dresdner Kleinwort maintain their "buy" rating on Bayer AG (BAY.ETR), while raising his estimates for the company. The 12-month target price has been raised from €67 to €70.

In a research note published this morning, the analysts mention that the company's CropScience division posted robust sales and margins for 3Q. Bayer's key products in the Healthcare division, Nexavar, Betaferon and Yasmin, posted robust results for the three-month period, with disappointing sales of women's health product, Trasylol, and diagnostic imaging, the analysts say. The diluted EPS estimates for 2007, 2008 and 2009 have been raised from €4.61 to €4.76, from €4.23 to €4.32 and from €4.80 to €5.03, respectively.

[waldron] 06/11/2007 11:00

Bayer Ag Bayer Q3 pre-ex EBITDA beats consensus as Schering outperforms UPDATE




(Recasts intro, adds details on projected dividend, number of jobs cut)
LEVERKUSEN, Germany (Thomson Financial) - Bayer AG said EBITDA before
one-time charges rose 6.9 pct to 1.559 bln eur, up from a restated 1.459 bln
last year, helped by higher sales of the Yasmin and Mirena contraceptives,
acquired as part of the takeover of rival Schering.
This surpassed the 1.546 bln eur average estimate compiled in a Thomson
Financial News survey of seven analysts.
Third-quarter revenue advanced 4.5 pct to 7.793 bln eur, compared with an
average analyst forecast of 7.764 bln.
"Not least because of the Schering acquisition, we have enhanced our
earnings power (in the long term)," chief executive Werner Wenning said.
"The results were solid," said Martin Brunninger, an analyst at Cazenove in
London. "But once again the main profit contributors and growth drivers were
Schering products and pharmaceuticals from the traditional Bayer business were
very disappointing."
Bayer last year bought rival German drug maker Schering for 17 bln eur.
Yasmin generated 35 pct more revenue than last year, while the rate was 29.7
pct for Mirena, the two fastest growing drugs among the company's 10 best
selling pharmaceuticals.
Brunning also pointed to Trasylol, an injection to prevent excessive blood
loss during surgery which Bayer yesterday temporarily pulled off global markets
because of reported side-effects. Trasylol is part of Bayer's traditional
business, as is the Cipro antibiotic, which saw a loss in sales of 17.9 pct in
the third quarter.
Bayer recalculated last year's figure to exclude sold businesses such as
H.C. Starck and Wolff Walsrode.
The German company also said it expects the 2007 margin of EBITDA before
one-time charges over sales to reach at least 20.3 pct, up from 19.3 pct last
year.
Chief executive Wenning has declared EBITDA before one-time charges as a
percentage of sales Bayer's yardstick of success, having said previously the
margin is set to exceed 20 pct this year and rise above 22 pct by 2009.
The full-year sales target was also increased, to more than 32 bln eur, a
gain of about 6 pct when excluding the effect of portfolio changes and currency
swings and higher than the earlier comparable goal of an about 5 pct rise.
Quarterly revenue at the HealthCare unit, Bayer's largest, rose 5.7 pct to
3.680 bln.
The company sees the 2007 pre-exceptional EBITDA margin at the division,
whose products range from the Aspirin painkiller to blood-clotting drug Kogenate
and the Betaferon multiple sclerosis injection, at more than 25 pct. The
previous goal was to reach 25 pct.
Wenning said he deems the experimental anti-thrombosis pill Xarelto Bayer's
most promising product, saying it has "blockbuster potential".
In addition to the four uses Xarelto is being tested for, a further
indication for hospitalised patients with internal diseases will be pursued.
Other drugs that will drive the unit's expansion include the Nexavar kidney
cancer treatment, which was recently cleared to treat liver cancer patients in
Europe as well.
Bayer's CropScience unit posted a 10.3 pct revenue gain on strong demand for
pesticides in Latin America. Pre-exceptional EBITDA jumped 16.8 pct to 167 mln
eur at the unit, "due largely to higher volumes", the company said.
The company-wide net profit soared to 1.175 bln eur, up from 320 mln eur
last year on tax effects. Bayer had earlier said it would free up 900 mln eur in
the third quarter money set aside for future tax liabilities because of a cut in
the corporate tax rate next year.
Bayer also said it plans to restructure its MaterialScience unit and to cut
jobs there to save 300 mln eur a year by the end of 2009. This will prompt total
special charges of 150 mln eur to 200 mln in 2008 and 2009, it added.
Job cuts, 400 to 500 in total, will be pursued in a "socially compatible way
and through normal attrition", and should be achieved without redundancies,
Wenning said.
The dividend paid out for 2007 will be "based" on 30 pct to 40 pct of
full-year core earnings per share, a profit measure that excludes discontinued
operations and write-downs and integration costs related to the Schering
takeover, Bayer said.
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lb/slj/lb/wj

[waldron] 06/11/2007 07:30

Bayer Ag Bayer Q3 pre-ex EBITDA rises 6.9 pct to 1.559 bln, beating consensus UPDATE




(Adds full-year sales target, restructuring at MaterialScience unit)
LEVERKUSEN, Germany (Thomson Financial) - Bayer AG said third quarter EBITDA
before one-time charges rose 6.9 pct to 1.559 bln eur, up from a restated 1.459
bln last year, on higher sales at its pharmaceuticals division and strong demand
for farming pesticides.
That surpassed the 1.546 bln eur average estimate in a Thomson Financial
News survey of seven analysts.
Third quarter revenue advanced 4.5 pct to 7.793 bln eur, compared with an
average analyst forecast of 7.764 bln.
Bayer also said it expects the 2007 EBITDA margin before one-time charges
over sales to reach at least 20.3 pct, up from 19.3 pct last year.
Chief executive Werner Wenning has declared EBITDA before one-time charges
as a percentage of sales as Bayer's yardstick of success, saying previously that
the margin is set to exceed 20 pct this year and rise above 22 pct by 2009.
The company now aims for full-year sales to reach more than 32 bln eur,
equivalent to a gain of about 6 pct when excluding the effect of portfolio
changes and currency swings, which is more than the earlier comparable target of
a gain of about 5 pct.
Bayer also said it plans to restructure its MaterialScience unit and to cut
jobs there to save 300 mln eur annually by the end of 2009. This will prompt
total special charges of 150 mln eur to 200 mln through 2009, it added.
The company plans to pursue the job cuts in a socially compatible way and
through normal attrition, it said, without specifying the number of jobs
affected.
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lb/lam/lb/cw

[waldron] 05/11/2007 11:50

Bayer to temporarily suspend sale of Trasylol worldwide




LEVERKUSEN, Germany (Thomson Financial) - Bayer AG said it will temporarily
suspend selling the blood-clotting injection Trasylol worldwide, after a study
in Canada was interrupted last month because experts said the drug exposed trial
participants to an increased risk of death.
The drug, given before coronary bypass surgery to prevent excessive blood
loss, will not be sold until data from the study, known as BART, is fully
analysed, the company said in a statement today.
The global suspension follows a "direction" from German regulators to
suspend the marketing of Trasylol in Germany and a "request" from the US Food
and Drug Administration to suspend marketing of the product in the US, Bayer
said.


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lb/cmr

[grupo guitarlumber] 26/10/2007 14:24

Bayer "overweight," target price raised

Friday, October 26, 2007 8:49:24 AM ET
J.P. Morgan Securities

LONDON, October 26 (newratings.com) - Analysts at JP Morgan reiterate their "overweight" rating on Bayer AG (BAY.ETR), while raising their estimates for the company. The 12-month target price has been raised from €70 to €73.

In a research note published this morning, the analysts mention that there is a 60% probability of the company's Rivaroxaban product achieving peak sales of €5 billion. Bayer's share price is expected to be supported by the improved outlook for the Consumer Health division, oral contraceptives and Kogenate margins, the analysts say. The EPS estimates for 2007 and 2008 have been raised from €3.81 to €3.82 and from €4.19 to €4.21, respectively.

[ariane] 12/10/2007 09:59

Merck Kgaa Bayer, Genzyme to release new Phase II results on alemtuzumab in MS patients




CAMBRIDGE, MA (Thomson Financial) - Bayer AG and Genzyme Corp will publish
this weekend "important" new data on the use of leukemia drug alemtuzumab, which
they are jointly developing, in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, according to
Genzyme.
The results of a concluded three-year phase II study involving 334
relapsing-remitting MS patients will be presented at the Congress of the
European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis in Prague on
Oct 14, the US biotech company said in a statement.
The companies in May said interim results based on the first two years of
the three-year phase II trial indicated that the drug led to fewer relapses and
was better at slowing the progression of disabilities than Merck KGaA's Rebif.
Bayer and Genzyme last month said they have already started testing the
compound on relapsing-remitting MS patients in the third and last phase of
clinical trials required for regulatory approval of the new use.
Alemtuzumab is also the active compound in Bayer's Campath leukemia drug.
The German drugmaker owns the exclusive rights to market and distribute the
ingredient.
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lb/mas/ak

[ariane] 09/10/2007 09:54

Bayer Ag Bayer wins contract to build waste water facility in Israel




LEVERKUSEN, Germany (Thomson Financial) - Bayer AG said its Technology
Services division won a contract from Makhteshim Chemical Workers to build a
waste water facility in Israel.
No financial details were disclosed.
Bayer said the facility will be the the biggest to date based on its Loprox
process, which pre-treats highly polluted water prior to biological waste water
treatment.


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jcs/rfw

[ariane] 26/9/2007 14:15

Bayer, Genzyme start phase 3 testing of alemtuzumab on MS patients


LEVERKUSEN, Germany (Thomson Financial) - Bayer AG and its development
partner Genzyme Corp have started testing their alemtuzumab leukemia drug on
multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in the last phase of clinical trials required
for regulatory approval of the new use.
Alemtuzumab, the active compound in Bayer's Campath leukemia drug, is being
tested against Merck KGaG's Rebif as a first treatment in patients with newly
diagnosed relapsing-remitting MS, Bayer said in a statement today.
Bayer, through its Bayer Schering Pharma division, owns the exclusive rights
to market and distribute the compound.
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lb/dca

[ariane] 18/9/2007 20:11

Shorter TB therapy shows promise
Date : 18/09/2007 @ 20:05
Source : TFN


Shorter TB therapy shows promise


CHICAGO (AP) - New research gives hope for successfully treating
tuberculosis in a few months rather than the six months or more currently needed
to beat the contagious lung disease, doctors reported Tuesday.
Adding the antibiotic moxifloxacin to the usual TB drugs shortened the time
to cure to an estimated four months in a study in Brazil, Johns Hopkins
University scientists reported at an American Society for Microbiology
conference in Chicago.
A second study by Hopkins researchers cured mice of TB in 10 weeks instead
of the usual six months with moxifloxacin plus the TB drug rifapentine at higher
doses.
"It sounds fantastic," said Dr. Melvin Spigelman, research and development
director for the nonprofit Global Alliance for TB Drug Development in New York.
"The science is there" and just needs to be verified in larger studies, he said.
The group will launch a 2,400-patient study later this year.
Also on Tuesday, the Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced
its largest grants ever to fight TB -- $280 million for research on vaccines,
diagnostics and drugs.
"If everything goes well, it should be feasible to shorten treatment time,"
possibly even to ultra-short regimens of two weeks to a month, said Ken Duncan,
the foundation's program director.
More than 8 million people worldwide develop TB each year and nearly 2
million die of it. The disease is mostly a problem in poor countries, but the
recent case of Andrew Speaker, an Atlanta attorney who created an international
health scare by traveling while he had a multidrug-resistant strain of TB, shows
the danger in the United States as well.
Recently, a Mexican teenager was jailed in Georgia and threatened with
deportation after refusing to take his recommended nine months of TB treatment.
Similar cases have surfaced around the country.
Treatment now consists of three or four antibiotics taken daily for six
months or more. But half of patients do not take all their pills, allowing
resistant bacteria to grow and spread, said Dr. Jacques Grosset, the Hopkins
researcher who led the study of several hundred mice.
The Brazil study involved about 170 men and women in Rio de Janeiro who had
active TB. All were given three standard anti-TB drugs plus either moxifloxacin
or an older drug, ethambutol.
After two months, 85 percent of those on moxifloxacin tested negative for
the infection compared to 68 percent on ethambutol. The treatment advantage
showed up in as little as two weeks.
"Based on what we know, if you get that big a difference at two months, you
should be able to shorten the duration of treatment ... down to four," said Dr.
Richard Chaisson, director of TB research at Hopkins.
In a third study of about 400 TB patients throughout Africa, 60 percent who
received moxifloxacin plus three other drugs tested negative for TB at two
months versus 55 percent given isoniazid and the other medications.
The federal government paid for the studies, and Bayer Healthcare AG donated
moxifloxacin, which it sells as Avelox in the United States for short-term use
against pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses. The pill costs $10 a day, but
researchers said Bayer has promised to make it available in poor countries for
less if it is approved to treat TB.

[ariane] 17/9/2007 10:48

Bayer Ag Novartis CEO rules out major pharma merger; no comment on Bayer buy speculation


ZURICH (Thomson Financial) - Novartis AG chief executive Daniel Vasella has
ruled out a merger of major players in the pharmaceutical market, while again
declining to comment on rumours linking the company with a takeover of German
rival Bayer AG.
In an interview with French economic newspaper La Tribune, he said he has
"no indication that could confirm the rumours of a merger between major players"
in the sector.
In the case of Novartis, he pointed out that investments in R&D has grown
some 90 pct since 2002. That is faster than revenue growth, and is "not
sustainable", he said.
However, a merger is "not the answer", he added.
"It would be an error to just base any acquisitions on the price," he said,
adding that the company has to make sure that it meets its quality criteria and
it can build on it.
Asked about recent market speculation linking the Swiss pharma group with a
bid for German rival Bayer, Vasella once again declined to comment.
The Basel-based drug maker has been hit by the suspension of constipation
drug Zelnorm as well as by generic competition for some of its key drugs.
But last Wednesday, Novartis has projected that it should return to "strong"
growth territory by the second half of 2008, including double-digit growth for
the phamarceuticals division.

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at/hmn/ra

[ariane] 15/9/2007 06:16

Bayer initiated with "outperform"

Friday, September 14, 2007 10:21:29 AM ET
Bear Stearns

LONDON, September 14 (newratings.com) - Analyst Richard Vosser of Bear Stearns reinitiates coverage of Bayer AG (BAY.ETR) with an "outperform" rating. The target price is set to €75.

In a research note published this morning, the analyst mentions that the company's Healthcare business is expected to generate 18.9% EPS growth in 2007-2011 and is unlikely to reach an earnings trough up to 2015. Despite the high quality of the Healthcare business, Bayer's share price reflects the value of this business in-line with that of the European large-cap pharma peers, the analyst says. While Xarelto has the potential to become a multi-billion euro product over the next ten years, Nexavar may become a blockbuster in liver cancer, Bear Stearns adds.

[ariane] 09/9/2007 10:25

Bayer "buy"

Tuesday, September 04, 2007 7:19:03 AM ET
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasser.

LONDON, September 4 (newratings.com) - Analyst Tero Weckroth of Dresdner Kleinwort maintains his "buy" rating on Bayer (BAY.ETR). The target price is set to €67.

In a research note published this morning, the analyst mentions that the company's recent management roadshow was encouraging. Despite the 43% appreciation in Bayer's share price year-to-date, the current valuation of the company's stock is attractive, the analyst adds.