Bayer in Talks With European Governments on Higher Drug Prices

Bayer AG is in discussions with governments in Europe, Japan and other wealthy countries to push for higher prices on new medicines as the US seeks to rein in drug costs.

“In Europe, we need to raise the price level for new product launches,” said Stefan Oelrich, the head of Bayer’s pharmaceuticals division, in an interview. “Otherwise, as an industry — and this naturally applies to us as well — we’ll be faced with additional discounts in the US that wouldn’t allow us to recoup our total expenses.”