In a time marked by global uncertainty—from shifting trade policies to evolving healthcare demands—the pharmaceutical industry faces mounting pressure to deliver both innovation and resilience. Bayer’s Pharmaceutical Division, under the leadership of Stefan Oelrich, has embarked on a strategic transformation aimed at reinforcing stability while advancing its long-term vision. In this interview, Christene Smith from CHEManager discusses with him how Bayer is navigating external volatility, reshaping its internal structures, and investing in future-ready capabilities to ensure sustainable growth.
CHEManager: Given the current unpredictability in global trade—ranging from shifting tariff regimes to geopolitical tensions—how is Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals division building resilience into its supply chains and market strategies to maintain stability in such an unstable external environment?
Stefan Oelrich: At Bayer Pharmaceuticals, we are taking several strategic steps to build even more resilience into our supply chain and market strategies. We are closely monitoring geopolitical developments through an established task force and implementing immediate mitigation measures at both the product and supply chain levels. We continue to review and adapt our internal and external supply network to further increase resilience, agility, and flexibility.
Have you changed your approach to sourcing critical raw materials and manufacturing active ingredients in light of the supply chain disruptions experienced during the pandemic or the current VUCA environment?
S. Oelrich: We continue to pursue a systematic approach of comprehensive risk mitigation measures encompassing evaluation of our sourcing strategies, risk analyses, and the use of multiple sourcing channels. We continuously assess our internal and external manufacturing footprint. These steps ensure that our suppliers meet regulatory requirements focused on product quality and availability.
Bayer recently restructured its Pharmaceuticals leadership team and introduced a new operating model. What were the key drivers behind this transformation, and how do you envision it enhancing stability and growth?
S. Oelrich: As part of our journey to become more mission-centric and value-focused, we have shifted from functional silos and multi-hierarchical layers towards a new operating model rooted in Product and Customer Teams. Within this new setup, we have restructured our Leadership Team to include, for example, a new Chief Operating Officer role, the goal of which is to further enhance customer value, maximize market opportunities, and generate revenue growth and profitability for Bayer Pharmaceuticals. We have also created a new ‘Global Commercialization’ organization which marries elements of our former Strategic Business Unit Oncology, Global Marketing, and Digital & Commercial Innovation, with parts of Medical Affairs and Pharmacovigilance. The resulting closer collaboration between R&D and Commercialization is enabling the integration of commercial insights into early development and decision-making, which is paving the way for enhanced stability and future growth.
“We are seeing many concrete outcomes of our ollaborative product-centric teams, including, for example, accelerating a regulatory filing timeline by six weeks (versus the industry standard) within our prostate cancer product team.”
Looking back over the past year since the creation of the Global Commercialization unit, how has this structural shift influenced Bayer’s go to-market strategy across regions—and what tangible outcomes or lessons have emerged from this new model?
S. Oelrich: Our Global Commercialization unit was created to help drive commitment to collaboration across early R&D, global product strategy and commercialization to advance innovation, create better outcomes for patients, and enable us to make a lasting impact in the field of medicine.
This agile, integrated approach across geographies enables us to bring our most promising therapies to patients faster. We are seeing many concrete outcomes of our collaborative product-centric teams, including, for example, accelerating a regulatory filing timeline by six weeks (versus the industry standard) within our prostate cancer product team.
Bayer has made significant investments in incubator centers, such as investing in the Bayer Co.Labs in Berlin, Cambridge, Kobe, and Shanghai. How do these investments contribute to long-term portfolio stability?
S. Oelrich: We have created our global Bayer Co.Lab incubation model and global network to help early-stage startups to accelerate the development of their groundbreaking ideas towards the clinic. Due to the highly innovative nature of early-stage startups in the biopharmaceutical arena, we believe a significant proportion of the next generation of transformative medicines and technologies will be advanced by startup companies. Through a careful selection process, we identify top teams who are advancing science that aligns to Bayer’s own research and strategic portfolio planning, thus establishing trustworthy relationships from the get-go.
“Due to the highly innovative nature of early-stage startups in the biopharmaceutical arena, we believe a significant proportion of the next generation of transformative medicines and technologies will be advanced by startup companies.”
How do you balance high-risk, high-reward innovation with the need for predictable, stable revenue streams?
S. Oelrich: High-risk, high-reward innovation is not necessarily a risk to stable revenue streams. While raising the bar for innovation increases technical risk, it can also mitigate significant commercial risks by creating a more differentiated portfolio. Seeking low technical risk might lead to incremental innovation that cannot compete in an environment of high-cost pressure. Ultimately, a more innovative approach can lead to sustainable growth and reduced vulnerability in a competitive market.
Bayer has pursued partnerships and acquisitions to strengthen its development pipeline. What criteria guide your selection of external collaborators?
S. Oelrich: Like most pharmaceutical companies, we pursue source-agnostic innovation and build our pipeline organically and inorganically. When looking externally, we seek to complement our capabilities and our pipeline to reflect our strategic focus areas. When making decisions, we start by assessing the potential value and differentiation of our respective assets. This approach allows us to both maximize our innovation potential and enhance our pipeline.
How is Bayer leveraging digital tools and data to support commercial resilience and patient engagement?
S. Oelrich: Bayer is utilizing advanced technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to enhance commercial resilience and boost patient engagement. These technologies optimize research and development processes, accelerate drug discovery, and improve clinical trials, thereby bringing innovative treatments to patients more efficiently and effectively. We conduct in-depth analytics by integrating advanced digital tools within robust data-architecture. This enables us to optimize how we identify and engage with patients. Collaborations and partnerships further expand Bayer’s digital footprint, offering personalized health solutions and a collaborative ecosystem that supports AI adoption for enhanced patient care. One notable example is an innovative platform which features 3D organ models and mixed reality technology to educate both patients and healthcare professionals about ATTR-CM and related heart conditions. Since its recent launch, this app has been downloaded over 140,000 times and is accessible in six languages.
This article was published in CHEManager Internationl 3/2025.
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