Bayer AG has announced the launch of a Cell and Gene Therapy (C&GT) Platform within its Pharmaceuticals division. Through this strategic platform, the company further consolidates its emerging leadership in the field and takes a deeply transformative step for its business.

Stefan Oelrich, Member of the Board of Management, Bayer AG and President Pharmaceuticals Division said, “With the establishment of Bayer’s own C&GT Platform our company will propel its presence in this area. This will complement our existing C&GT pipeline which already includes five advanced assets with at least three investigational new drugs annually for the next years.“

In order to build up its presence in C&GT, Bayer is strengthening its internal C&GT capabilities. At the same time, the company is pursuing external strategic collaborations, technology acquisitions and licensing. The goal is to build robust platforms with broad application across different therapeutic areas.

Strategically, Bayer focuses on selected areas of C&GT, such as stem cell therapies (with focus on induced pluripotent cells or iPSCs), gene augmentation, gene editing and allogeneic cell therapies in different indications. With the acquisition of BlueRock Therapeutics in 2019 and the recent acquisition of Asklepios Biopharmaceutical, successfully closed on December 1, 2020, the first partners are integrating into Bayer’s C&GT Platform.

The role of Bayer’s C&GT Platform is to steer strategically, ensuring the different parts of the organisation complement each other and combining the best in Biotech and Pharma know-how.

Wolfram Carius, Head, C&GT Platform, Bayer said, “A dedicated C&GT Platform is vital to accelerate innovation at its source, and to ensure its translation into tangible therapies for patients who have no time to wait.”

As part of the Pharmaceuticals Division, the C&GT Platform will combine multiple backbone functions providing support across the entire value chain for the research and development of cell and gene therapies. This includes expertise in Research and Preclinical Development, CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls), Clinical Development, Commercial, Strategy Implementation and Project Management. With a high level of flexibility, it will orchestrate operations from science to launch in order to generate and maintain a sustainable pipeline, with the goal to bring breakthrough science to market as fast as possible.