Bayer Advances Combined Seed and Crop Protection Pipeline and Enters Phase of Blockbuster Launches
Bayer is implementing its previously announced ambition to bring 10 blockbusters to market over 10 years, beginning to launch major Crop Science innovations in key agricultural regions around the world. A blockbuster is a product that is expected to deliver a peak sales potential of at least 500 million euros. Plenexos™ insecticide and the Preceon™ Smart Corn System have already started to be commercialized. In soy, Vyconic™ 1 is expected for introduction next year in the United States and Canada, and Intacta 5+™1 introduction is expected for the 2027/2028 growing season in Brazil.
“We are delivering on the promises we made and bringing a new generation of game-changing products to farmers. By connecting seed and crop protection innovation we can deliver whole-farm solutions that help growers manage risk, capture yield potential and improve return on investment,” said Rodrigo Santos, Member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG and Head of the Crop Science Division. “We pursue a very diligent and differentiated strategy for each of our segments, addressing different growth dynamics, farmer needs, and regional and competitive dynamics. Because we have scale, we see having these different business segments together as a significant strategic advantage – one that plays out in what we innovate and how we can serve growers.”
The Preceon™ Smart Corn System, a digitally enabled short-stature corn system, is already delivering on-farm value in Mexico, Italy, Spain, and the U.S. This year, the commercial launch in Argentina will begin. It delivers a unique combination of benefits for growers, including increased protection against weather extremes, flexibility to plant at higher densities, improved accessibility for standard farm equipment throughout the season, and a larger root system, all supporting reduced agronomic risk, higher yield potential and better return on investment for farmers. By 2035, Bayer targets a market penetration of 26 million acres. Preceon™ is also unique by embedding digital capabilities within the system through FieldView™. More than a sales enablement platform, it serves as a collaboration tool between farmers and their agronomic advisors and helps customers realize the full agronomic and economic potential of the system.
Plenexos™, a new insecticide targeting a broad spectrum of sucking pests, has been introduced in Colombia, with Mexico, Brazil, and the U.S. set to follow. Compared to other products, farmers can use up to 75 percent less active ingredient to control pests2 which also helps safeguard pollinators, beneficial insects and other non-target organisms. With a focus on soy, cotton, fruits and vegetables, Plenexos™ is anticipated to reach a peak sales potential of 500 million euros by the mid-2030s.
Vyconic™ will be the industry’s first soybean trait stack with tolerance to five herbicides. It is designed to provide growers with more flexibility in their weed control options and to better manage weed pressure and increasingly problematic resistance. Because of the integration with Bayer’s advanced breeding pipeline, Vyconic™ will be introduced in elite-performing varieties that have demonstrated a yield increase of more than two bushels per acre, meaning that farmers realize the full value of both increased genetic yield potential and weed control flexibility earlier than ever. Bayer anticipates strong adoption of Vyconic™ and subsequent launch of HT5, helping to regain trait leadership position in North America by 2032. Intacta 5+™ will also bring five herbicide tolerances to Brazilian growers, and adds new insect protection traits specifically designed for the Brazilian market. In soy, these and the next generation of herbicide tolerance traits, combined with the newest insect protection traits, are expected to reach a peak sales potential of more than 3 billion euros.
Additional blockbusters expected before the end of the decade include fourth-generation corn rootworm protection, as well as the groundbreaking herbicide Icafolin, targeting 750 million euros sales potential in the mid-2030s. Collectively, the 10 blockbusters will address pressing farmer challenges and are poised to contribute significantly to Bayer’s growth over the coming decade.
Bayer advances industry-leading innovation pipeline
Alongside these launches, Bayer advances key projects across its Crop Science R&D pipeline and brings innovation to farmers continuously, introducing 400 to 500 new hybrids and varieties annually. This output is based on Bayer’s AI-enabled precision breeding platform, which doubles the yield improvement rate of every new generation (genetic gain) compared to historical breeding, and accelerates time to market threefold.
The company’s researchers have further enhanced this breeding approach through genome editing, which they use at scale by integrating the technology early in breeding processes. One example is genome-edited soy: Higher-yielding soybean varieties can become more susceptible to leaning or falling over as plant height increases. Through genome editing, Bayer is developing soy with improved plant architecture to help address this challenge. Innovations like genome-edited standable soy and the advanced breeding pipeline come together to create new product concepts and value for growers that will come to the market early in the next decade.
As another example of its connected R&D engine, Bayer is advancing new biotech traits in concert with its novel crop protection innovation. In early-stage development, the company is working on its sixth-generation herbicide tolerance, which is expected to also include tolerance against its blockbuster herbicide Icafolin. It is the first time the company simultaneously develops a new herbicide molecule and plant trait for tolerance, contributing to a holistic weed-control system that is unique in the industry.
Bayer’s AI-powered R&D-CropKey platform is a key differentiator in Crop Protection, enabling the discovery of new modes of action and the design of targeted molecules assessing efficacy, safety, and sustainability at the very start of the R&D process. This has helped create a robust pipeline with more than 15 novel modes of action currently in the pipeline research phase, driven by CropKey. One example is a new broad-spectrum fungicide for soy with blockbuster potential. It is developed using CropKey and now advanced to phase II in the pipeline.
“Whether in seeds, traits or crop protection innovation, AI is becoming a core enabler of Bayer’s innovation model, helping us advance discovery, improve development efficiency and translate biological insights into differentiated products for growers faster,” said Mike Graham, Head of Crop Science R&D. “Our advantage is that our teams work from the same biological insights, enabling us to combine expertise across disciplines and accelerate innovation.”
Bayer is also using its unique R&D capabilities to expand into adjacent growth areas. With its emergent, but leading portfolio of intermediate biofuel crops, including camelina, winter oilseed rape and CoverCress™, the company contributes to meeting growing demand for biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel markets, estimated to increase almost threefold to 40 billion gallons by 2040. Bayer is also advancing its plans to sell hybrid wheat in Europe and North America by the early 2030s. This unlocks a largely untapped opportunity by bringing the benefits of hybridization to a crop grown on more than 500 million acres worldwide. With hybrid wheat, camelina, winter oilseed rape and CoverCress™, Bayer is entering four new crops at the same time.
Bayer on track executing its Five-Year Framework
Bayer’s innovation approach is enabled by execution of its Five-Year Framework strategy, which the Crop Science Division announced in 2025 to drive growth, resilience and profitability. The company continues to execute the strategy, and efforts are beginning to deliver tangible results.
Bayer has made significant progress on cost reductions, amounting to almost 400 million euros to date, contributing to its EBITDA before special items improvement goal of 1 billion euros and supporting its ambition to achieve an EBITDA margin before special items in the mid-20s percentage range by the end of the decade. Actions included divesting five active ingredients and discontinuing more than 100 crop protection formulations. In addition, cash-flow measures are progressing, with inventory reductions of already 500 million euros, supporting Bayer’s ambition to reach a free operating cash flow of more than 3 billion euros by 2029.
The Five-Year Framework’s goal of above-market growth and delivering more than 3.5 billion euros of incremental sales at constant currency through the end of the decade is supported by Bayer’s ongoing innovation delivery as well as strategic business decisions. Key growth drivers include excellent-yielding hybrids launched every year, accelerated technology adoption, market share gains and geographic expansion of proven technologies into Asian and EMEA markets. In the crop protection space, Bayer is pursuing growth through locally focused go-to-market initiatives, redeploying commercial resources to growth products and regions, and lifecycle management measures, like the introduction of Convintro™ in the United States, Brazil and Canada.
Bayer’s progress is supported by its Dynamic Shared Ownership operating model, which enables faster decisions and clearer accountability, strengthening the company’s ability to lead in scaling AI-enabled opportunities across the business. “Our innovation strategy and our Five-Year Framework are built on execution,” said Rodrigo Santos. “We are making progress against the commitments we have made, and are set to lead the industry and bring value to our customers and shareholders by delivering differentiating solutions that growers around the world need.”
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