法比安·金策尔曼和索尼娅·温德报道 拜耳股份公司计划投资22亿美元，在俄亥俄州建设一座新生产基地。这是欧洲制药企业一系列投资承诺中的最新一笔；这些企业一直承受着特朗普政府要求压低药价、扩大美国制造业的压力。
By Fabienne Kinzelmann and Sonja Wind Bayer AG plans to invest $2.2 billion in a new manufacturing site in Ohio, the latest in a series of investment pledges by European pharmaceutical companies that have been under pressure from the Trump administration to push down drug prices and boost US manufacturing.
拜耳这家德国医药集团周五表示，新工厂将生产用于治疗癌症、心血管疾病和肾脏疾病的药物。位于新奥尔巴尼的该基地预计将创造约600个就业岗位，并于2031年启动生产。宣布这一消息前不久，美国对进口药品征收的关税于9月底生效。
The new factory will make medicines for cancer, cardiovascular and kidney diseases, the German conglomerate said Friday. The site in New Albany is expected to create about 600 jobs, with production starting in 2031. The announcement comes shortly after US tariffs on imported drugs took effect at the end of September.
拜耳不在那些与白宫达成协议、以降低药价换取关税减免的制药商之列。根据欧盟—美国贸易协定，关税税率上限为15%，拜耳仍预计需要缴纳相关关税。该公司表示，工厂投资是独立于关税因素作出的决定。
Bayer was not among the drugmakers that struck deals with the White House to lower drug prices in exchange for tariff relief. The company still expects to pay the levies, which are capped at 15% under the EU-US trade agreement, and said the factory investment was decided independently of tariff considerations.
“这是 一项长期决定，也是一贯落实我们的战略之举。”在被问及关税是否影响此次投资时，拜耳首席运营官兼美国业务总裁塞巴斯蒂安·古特说。
“It’s a long-term decision and one that consistently implements our strategy,” Sebastian Guth, Bayer’s chief operating officer and president of US operations, said when asked whether the tariffs influenced the investment.
预计关税将压缩拜耳关键药物的利润空间，包括在德国生产的肾脏和心脏疾病药物Kerendia，以及在芬兰生产的前列腺癌药物Nubeqa。
The tariffs are expected to weigh on Bayer’s margins for key medicines, including the kidney and heart therapy Kerendia, produced in Germany, and the prostate-cancer treatment Nubeqa which is manufactured in Finland.
古特说：“美国是我们规模最大、增长最快的市场。”美国约占拜耳制药部门销售额的35%，而2018年这一比例为20%。他补充说，拜耳的目标是到本十年末将美国业务的规模翻一番。
“The US is our largest and fastest-growing market,” Guth said, accounting for about 35% of sales in Bayer’s pharmaceutical division — up from 20% in 2018. Bayer aims to double its US business by the end of the decade, he added.
在仿制药加剧对拜耳老牌药物竞争的背景下，该公司正努力推动制药业务恢复增长，其中包括抗凝血药Xarelto。除Nubeqa和Kerendia外，拜耳还押注于包括中风药物Asundexian在内的新产品上市，该药目前正在美国接受审查。
Bayer is working to bring its pharma business back to growth as it faces generic competition for its older medicines such as the blood thinner Xarelto. Besides Nubeqa and Kerendia, the company is betting on new launches including the stroke drug Asundexian, which is under review in the US.
另据报道，拜耳正试图就其2018年收购孟山都时承接的Roundup除草剂相关美国诉讼画上句号。
Separately, Bayer is seeking to draw a line under US litigation over the Roundup weedkiller it gained in its 2018 acquisition of Monsanto.
在6月获得美国最高法院的有利裁决后，该公司正等待密苏里州法院对其拟议的72.5亿美元和解方案作出决定。该方案旨在解决美国目前及未来多数声称Roundup会致癌的索赔，但公司否认这种说法。
After securing a favorable US Supreme Court ruling in June, the company is awaiting a Missouri court’s decision on its proposed $7.25 billion settlement intended to resolve most current and future US claims alleging that Roundup causes cancer — which the company denies.