Bayer will hold its 2012 R&D budget at $4B

Bayer announced last fall that it would undergo a major restructuring as it shifts from mature to emerging drug markets. But it appears that the plan to cut 4,500 jobs on one side of the world as it adds 2,500 in other regions won't lead to any budget cutting in R&D.

The business newspaper Financial Times Deutschland reports that Bayer's internal papers indicate the German pharma giant plans to maintain its investment in R&D at just above $4 billion in 2012, keeping it level with the 2011 budget. The bulk of that money is devoted to healthcare, with about a third of the cash earmarked for crop and material science.

Bayer's restructuring is designed to shave €1 billion out of its cost structure. But the news report indicates that the company has yet to decide exactly where it plans to aim the axe.

- here's the story from Reuters