BAYER JOINS FORCES WITH FOURNIER
By Adnews Staff
Bayer Inc. of Toronto and Fournier Pharma's Thylmer Division of Montreal have teamed up to co-market a new cholesterol-lowering drug and will hire an agency within the next three months to help promote the product. Currently, the duo is looking at up to five agencies. The drug is called Baycol, and it is made by Bayer. The company decided to market the product jointly with Fournier because high cholesterol is one of the most under treated diseases in Canada, but it is also the fastest growing and there is a lot of competition, Bayer executive vice-president and general manager Derek Williams told Adnews yesterday. Bayer and Fournier are still seeking approval by the Health Protection Branch of Health Canada. When they receive approval, the drug will be promoted using print ads in medical journals and directly to physicians. The two will also continue clinical trials on Baycol to look at other things such as different usages and dosages. Bayer Inc. is the Canadian subsidiary of Bayer AG of Germany. Fournier is the Canadian subsidiary of Groupe Fournier of France.