Bayer is reorganising its company with the firm to be realigned into three distinct divisions from January next year.
The announcement comes shortly after Bayer completed the divestment of its polymer materials business, Bayer MaterialScience, which now operates under the name Covestro.
The company’s board of management of Bayer AG has proposed the company be managed by three separate, but integrated divisions: pharmaceuticals, consumer health and crop science.
As part of the reorganisation, the Bayer HealthCare subgroup will be dissolved as each division will focus on core competencies close to their businesses – R&D, production, and sales & marketing.
Werner Wenning, chairman of the supervisory board of Bayer AG, said: “In recent years, Bayer has continued developing its portfolio with a significant focus on Life Sciences. The company’s very strong position at this time enables it to concentrate exclusively on these businesses.
“We are convinced that the greater integration of strategic and operational roles will take Bayer forward and we have expanded the roles of Board of Management accordingly.”
The board will add four new executives, with effect from January 1, 2016, increasing its size to eight members.
Dieter Weinand will join the board from the pharmaceuticals division and Erica Mann has been appointed from the consumer care division.
Additionally, Liam Condon and Dr Hartmut Klusik will also join the board of managers. Condon has been chairman of the executive committee of Bayer cropscience since 2012 and Klusik has been on the HealthCare Executive Committee since 2005.
Despite the reorganisation of the company, job numbers are expected to remain stable in the coming years, both in Germany and the rest of the world.
The future product portfolio of the pharmaceuticals division is intended to bring together prescription medicines from the general medicine, specialty categories and the radiology business.
The consumer health division will encompass globally known consumer brands across many areas including allergies, cardiovascular risks and dermatology.
The crop science division, Bayer’s agriculture business is active in the seed, chemical and biological crop protection and non-agricultural pest control markets.
Dr Marijn Dekkers, chairman of the board, said: “The aim of the new organisation is to provide the best-possible support to Bayer’s strategy as a leading Life Science company and to put ourselves in an even stronger position vis-à-vis our competitors.”