September 7, 2013

Bayer HealthCare opens new laboratory in New Zealand 

Bayer HealthCare is boosting the research in animal health with expanded capacity at its Centre for Innovation and Development (CID) in Auckland, New Zealand, that will expedite international research into the health and wellness of both farm and companion animals.

The facility will focus on making animal medicines more effective by developing new formulations, and is staffed with a global team of 35 experts, analysts and technicians.

"Developing a new medicine for animals currently requires an investment of around 10 years and €100 million (US$131 million)," said Dirk Ehle, Global Head of Bayer HealthCare's Animal Health Division. "Given the long and costly development process, it is important to fully utilise existing medicines through new formulations and novel combinations."

The Bayer HealthCare Centre for Innovation and Development in New Zealand is responsible for important contributions to the animal health field, especially in the areas of mastitis control, reproduction and metabolic health management.

"In the past year, this site has generated Tylofen, the first mastitis treatment to be combined with pain relief to support both the wellness and welfare of dairy herds," said Derek Bartlett, Country Division Head of Bayer HealthCare, Animal Health, New Zealand. "And in the pet care segment, the launch of Hyper-T, a transdermal treatment for hyperthyroidism in cats has saved both owners and cats the daily stress of tablet administration."

"This new laboratory represents Bayer's continued commitment to developing new veterinary solutions," explains Douglas Hutchens, Chief Veterinary Officer and Head of Global Development for Bayer HealthCare's Animal Health Division. "By expanding the work of the Centre for Innovation and Development, we are investing in developments that will benefit veterinarians and farmers globally."

New animal health medicines must successfully complete the key phases of discovery, development, and registration before being commercialised. The discovery process includes the identification of molecules, in vitro testing for potency, metabolism and biopharmaceutical properties, and studies on efficacy, safety and pharmokinetics. In the development phase, the formulation is developed, and the dose titration, pharmacokinetics and safety are further reviewed. For farm animals, human food safety studies are performed to examine toxicology and residue standards. In the registration phase, clinical trials are performed - including long term target animal safety studies and complete human food safety studies - before a new drug application can be submitted to the respective government authority. Once the product is on the market, it is continually monitored through a comprehensive pharmacovigilance system.

The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of €18.6 billion (US$24.45 billion) in 2012, is one of the world's leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany.