Bayer gets over compulsory licence

MUMBAI: German chemicals and life sciences company Bayer has gotten over its brush with India’s intellectual property rights policy and is now looking for a bigger slice of the market, according to a senior executive of the company.

India’s patent office allowed compulsory licensing of Bayer’s anti-cancer drug Nexavar, opening it up to generic competition in 2012. The issue generated pressure on the Indian government to change the country's IP laws. “India is a large market and we will get through the challenges that are there. It is never easy but we also see huge potential in the Indian market which we cannot ignore,” said Richard van der Merwe, managing director, Bayer South Asia.

“We have had setbacks but we are positive and confident about the future.” The life sciences business, which contributes to 7% of the total, has not taken a back seat, Merwe said. It has launched three patented products in India and is awaiting a patent for eye care product Eylea, which has already been launched.

However, Bayer still wants clarification on intellectual property rights. “In the global office, there are still concerns,” Merwe said. “They would prefer a far clearer statement from the government and we would all like that. At some point, the government needs to come out more emphatically and tell they are protecting IPR.” However the company is most bullish about its crop sciences business, which posted revenue of Rs 840 million in the year to March. It has also made an investment of 30 million euros in a pharmaceutical plant in Gujarat.

Bayer is awaiting regulatory clearance for its merger with seed company Monsanto. That will bring to Bayer that company’s genetically modified crop portfolio. Despite opposition to GM seeds in India and litigation on intellectual property that Monsanto is separately fighting in the country besides local competition, Bayer thinks India is a big market that cannot be ignored.