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This excerpt taken from the FMS 20-F filed Feb 20, 2009. C. Research
and Development
Our research and development focuses strongly on the development
of new products, technologies and treatment concepts to optimize
treatment quality for dialysis patients, and on process
technology for manufacturing our products. Our research and
development activities are geared towards offering patients new
products and therapies in the area of dialysis and other
extracorporeal therapies to improve their quality of life and
increase their life expectancy. The quality and safety of our
systems are a central focus of our research. Additionally, the
research and development efforts aim to improve the quality of
dialysis treatment by matching it more closely with the
individual needs of the patient, while reducing the overall cost
for treatment. With our vertical integration, our research and
development department can apply our experience as the
world’s largest provider of dialysis treatments to product
development, and our technical department benefits from our
daily practical experience as a provider of dialysis treatment
and close contact with doctors, nurses and patients to keep
track of and meet customer and patient needs. We conduct annual
innovation meetings and developer conferences, at which
employees from our worldwide research and development sites meet
and exchange experience with each other and with representatives
of our various market segments. We also maintain close contacts
with universities and research institutions. We are cooperating
particularly intensively with the University of Michigan (on a
longitudinal study of chronic kidney patients), Danube
University Krems in Austria (on extracorporeal methods), and the
Renal Research Institute (RRI) in the United States. RRI was
founded in 1997 as a joint venture between Fresenius Medical
Care North America and the Beth Israel Medical Center, a
hospital in New York, and its network currently comprises 15
institutes in six U.S. states. It was organized to create a
network of clinics in which new technologies could be
researched, with the aim of improving patients’ quality of
life and better understanding the course of chronic kidney
failure.
Table of Contents
The task of our research and development departments, which
employ approximately 415 full time equivalents, is to
continually develop and improve our products and treatments. Our
biggest research and development department is R&D
International with 347 employees, most of whom work at our
Schweinfurt and Bad Homburg locations. Smaller teams also work
in St. Wendel and in Romania. Apart from R&D International,
we have research and development departments in North America
and in the Asia Pacific regions, as well as at a few production
sites. All of these units are closely connected and cooperate on
many projects.
In 2008, research and development expenditures amounted to
$80 million, (equivalent to 2.8% of our total dialysis
product sales), compared to $67 million in 2007, our most
significant year over year increase in R&D expenditures.
Our R&D activities focus on continual improvements for
users and patients rather than revolutionary discoveries,
resulting in expenditures that are lower than other companies in
the healthcare sector but that are well within the range
typically observed in the dialysis industry. The main reason for
the increase in expenditures in 2008 is the acquisition of Renal
Solutions, Inc. (RSI), which is continuing to do intensive
research in the field of sorbent-based technology, helping to
create a potential platform for eventual development of a
wearable artificial kidney (see also “Sorbent Systems”
below). In addition we continued development of hemodialysis
machines, field testing of new products and extracorporeal and
home therapy programs. A discussion of each of these activities
follows below.
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