Technological Change refers to the emergence of new products and processes in the marketplace brought about by innovative initiatives and distributive strategies; this in turn motivates formation of new industries and competitive rivalries for the organization. At Bayer it has always been their mission to create new innovations to better the lives of people. The pharmaceutical company has focused over the years on health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Through Bayer Schering Pharma AG in Germany the company has been spearheading R&D in Oncology by employing multiple strategies and decimating competitive influences in the process. By analyzing Bayer’s competitive approach to R & D, we can better grasp the scope of their strategies to evaluate their advancements in the field of oncology.
Main Ideas
❖ Bayer’s strategy to maintaining competitive advantage lies in a simple concept: acquisition & investment. Under this model, they have incorporated a 3-pronged approach involving: (1) Drug-focus; (2) oncology patient research and (3) industry mergers and alliances.
❖ To show their commitment to R & D development, a look into Bayer’s finances shows that £2.7 billion has been allocated to the organizations overall research initiatives. Oncology in particular contributed significantly to this bill
❖ Bayer has partnered with biotech institute Genzyme to further R & D into their secondary anti-cancer drugs like MacCampath; this has allowed them to free resources and accelerate development of cancer drugs as Nexavar
❖ On a more homeward front, they also established a large Innovation Center in the USA which enhances their already existing research strategy. These initiatives enable Bayer to broaden their scope in discovering, developing and commercializing novel anti-cancer drugs thereby further extending their oncology pipeline.
Main Ideas Examples
❖ Nexavar - Bayer’s best-selling oncology product, currently
References: • http://www.research.bayer.com/en/News_Detail.aspx?id=9069 • http://pharma.bayer.com/scripts/pages/en/news_room/news_room/news_room92.php • http://www.investor.bayer.com/en/news/investor-news/investor-news/showNewsItem/1036/1238595840/b47ddf044f/ • http://www.press.bayer.com/baynews/baynews.nsf/id/41C0C4D08A7521AFC12577450025C013 • http://viva.vita.bayerhealthcare.com/scripts/pages/en/press/news_details_page.php/12330/