Bayer is moving pieces across its boardroom, its clinic, and its portfolio with unusual urgency. Within days of announcing a $300 million ophthalmology acquisition, the Leverkusen group reshuffled senior management in two divisions. The message is deliberate: while the market obsesses over glyphosate, the company is quietly building its future.
On June 8, Bayer appointed four new executives to its Consumer Health unit. Analia de la Fuente steps in as global chief data officer; David Tomasi becomes global chief commercial officer. Trevor Thrun will run the US business—Bayer’s largest consumer health market—and Samantha Avivi takes over as global chief marketing officer. The same day, the company named Dr. Jost Reinhard, until recently head of investor relations, as president of the radiology business within the pharma division, effective August 1. Reinhard succeeds Nelson Ambrogio, who moved into US pharma in May, and reports directly to pharma chief Stefan Oelrich.
The operational engine behind these changes has been humming. Group revenue rose 4.1 percent on a currency-adjusted basis in the first quarter of 2026, to €13.4 billion, while EBITDA before special items climbed 9.0 percent to €4.45 billion. Pharma alone contributed roughly €4.2 billion in sales, driven by prostate-cancer drug Nubeqa, which Bayer expects to peak at more than €5 billion annually—surpassing what blockbuster blood thinner Xarelto ever managed. Oelrich has called 2026 the last year of headwinds from Xarelto; from 2027, he forecasts “very competitive growth” again.
On the clinical front, Bayer is placing a big bet on PER-001. The deal for Perfuse Therapeutics gives it full rights to this small-molecule endothelin receptor antagonist, currently in Phase II development for glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. The upfront payment of $300 million is supplemented by milestone payments tied to development, regulatory approval, and commercialization. Phase 2b/3 studies are planned for the second half of 2026. What makes the asset distinctive is its mechanism: targeting visual-field improvement in glaucoma and contrast sensitivity in diabetic retinopathy—two endpoints that existing therapies do not address. Bayer already markets Eylea in ophthalmology through its partnership with Regeneron; PER-001 slots in neatly alongside that franchise.
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Meanwhile, Kerendia (finerenone) is edging toward a much larger patient pool. Phase III results from the FIND-CKD study, released in June 2026, showed that the drug significantly slowed disease progression in non-diabetic chronic kidney disease. Up to now, approval was limited to diabetic kidney disease. If the label expands, Kerendia’s addressable market grows substantially.
The balance sheet, however, tells a different story. Net cash outflows for litigation totaled €2.002 billion in the first quarter alone, mostly from PCB and glyphosate settlements. Net financial debt swelled to €32.5 billion at the end of March, a 9 percent increase from year-end 2025. That heavy burden is why free cash flow was negative in Q1. The management shake-up is partly aimed at improving cash generation, and investors will look for signs of that when half-year results are published in August, around the time Reinhard takes over radiology.
Technicians are watching a narrow battleground. On June 11, Bayer’s stock briefly crossed above its 200-day moving average. At €36.06, it now sits virtually on top of that line (€35.99), but the 50-day average at €38.10 presents a near-term ceiling about 5 percent higher. Over the past 12 months, the shares have gained 31.6 percent; year-to-date they are still down 5.2 percent. The 200-day crossover, while modest, signals that the market is beginning to reweight the operational story against the legal risks. The Supreme Court’s eventual ruling on glyphosate claims remains the wild card, but the pipeline substance—in ophthalmology, oncology, and nephrology—is no longer just a footnote.
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