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Bayer Stock Jumps on Nubeqa Outlook, Presents Pharma Strategy

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Key Takeaways

  • BAYRY rose 6.6% after Orion projected Nubeqa net sales tied to Bayer could exceed Euro 1B long term
  • Bayer highlighted Nubeqa and Kerendia strength at JPM, offsetting weaker Xarelto sales.
  • BAYRY is banking on new launches like Beyonttra, Lynkuet and asundexian to fuel future growth.

Shares of German pharma giant Bayer AG (BAYRY - Free Report) gained 6.6% on Jan. 14, following an update by partner Orion, a Finnish pharmaceutical company.

Orion believes that long-term annual net sales from Nubeqa, attributable to the company —including tablet sales to Bayer and royalty income — could exceed €1 billion. This outlook is based on scenario planning conducted in collaboration with its partner, Bayer.

Nubeqa was developed jointly by Bayer and Orion. The drug is approved in the United States for non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC) and mCSPC in combination with docetaxel.

BAYRY Outlines Priorities at J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference

At the 44th J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, Bayer AG outlined the strategic priorities for its Pharmaceuticals Division for 2026.

Bayer’s key drugs, Nubeqa and kidney disease drug Kerendia (finerenone), continue to maintain their impressive momentum in the Pharmaceutical division and offset the negative impact of a decline in sales of Xarelto, which is co-developed with Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) .

Xarelto is marketed by Johnson & Johnson in the United States. Bayer earns license revenues from JNJ for Xarelto sales in the United States.

2025 was a watershed year for Bayer with key drug approvals and label expansion of already approved drugs. Multiple high-impact launches across oncology, cardiology, and women’s health further extend the pharma division’s growth runway.

Bayer has put up a stellar performance in the past year. The stock has surged 126%, outpacing the industry’s growth of 22.7%.

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The company is now banking on new drugs like Beyonttra, Lynkuet and asundexian to drive the next wave of growth.

Bayer Advances Cardiovascular Portfolio

In 2025, the FDA approved a label expansion of Kerendia for the treatment of adult patients with heart failure (HF) and a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of ≥40%.

With the latest FDA approval, Kerendia has become the only non-steroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist approved in the United States for chronic kidney disease associated with type 2 diabetes and for HF with LVEF of ≥40%.

Additional regulatory reviews are underway globally, while ongoing phase III programs further broaden Kerendia’s addressable population across cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic conditions.

Asundexian, an investigational, once daily, oral Factor XIa inhibitor, is being evaluated as a potential treatment for secondary stroke prevention.

Top-line data from the late-stage OCEANIC-STROKE study demonstrated that it met both safety and efficacy endpoints, representing the first successful phase III study for a Factor XIa inhibitor. With FDA Fast Track designation already granted, asundexian is viewed as a potential blockbuster opportunity in a market where recurrent stroke risk remains high.

The European Commission granted marketing authorization for Beyonttra (acoramidis), marketed by Bridge Bio in the United States, to treat wild-type or variant transthyretin amyloidosis in adult patients with cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM).

Bayer is also shaping the future of cardiology through next-generation assets, including AB-1002, a single-dose gene therapy for congestive heart failure developed with AskBio, which is progressing in phase II, and several early- and mid-stage programs targeting thrombosis, atrial fibrillation and genetically defined cardiomyopathies.

The company also secured exclusive rights in Japan to aficamten from Cytokinetics (CYTK - Free Report) . The candidate is a cardiac myosin inhibitor in development for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Last month, Cytokinetics won FDA approval of aficamten for the treatment of patients with obstructive HCM in the United States, under the brand name Myqorzo.

Strategic partnerships and licensing deals further enhance Bayer’s precision cardiology portfolio.

BAYRY’s Oncology Portfolio Progress

Bayer’s key growth driver Nubeqa continues to demonstrate strong global uptake. Sales momentum remains robust across geographies, with additional phase III readouts expected in the coming years that could further extend its use into earlier disease settings.

Growth is further supported by the FDA’s accelerated approval of Hyrnuo (sevabertinib) for HER2-mutant non-small cell lung cancer, addressing a significant unmet need. A broad clinical program is underway to expand its use across lines of therapy and tumor types.

Positive phase III data support the expanded use of radium-223 dichloride (Xofigo), alongside a precision-focused oncology pipeline targeting KRAS-mutant cancers, MTAP-deleted tumors and next-generation therapies. Strategic acquisitions and partnerships continue to reinforce Bayer’s long-term oncology innovation engine.

Bayer's Focus on Women’s Health Adds Diversification

Bayer recently obtained FDA approval of elinzanetant for the treatment of moderate to severe menopause-related vasomotor symptoms (VMS, also known as hot flashes) under the brand name Lynkuet.

The drug was also approved by the European Commission. Lynkuet is already approved in the UK.

The approval of elinzanetant is a significant boost for the company.

BAYRY has also expanded its pipeline in new modalities of cell therapy through the acquisition of BlueRock, and in gene therapy, through the AskBio buyout.

Bayer’s AskBio recently announced that the FDA has accepted its investigational new drug (IND) application for AB-1009, an adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy being developed for late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD).

Bemdaneprocel, an investigational cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease which is being developed by BlueRock Therapeutics, has advanced to phase III.

Bayer is making good pipeline progress as well. The new drug application for investigational contrast agent, gadoquatrane, had been accepted for review in both the United States and China.

Gadoquatrane is being developed for use in contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of the central nervous system and other body regions in adults and pediatric patients, including term neonates.

Overall, Bayer’s pharma business is entering a new phase of growth, supported by key revenue drivers, multiple late-stage catalysts and a deep pipeline.

Bayer currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1  Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.


 


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