Management Report Outlook Research and Development 
The prices of other finished goods such as cardboard boxes and packaging materials should remain relatively stable. We will continue bundling our procurement processes on a global, cross-company basis. Procurement alliances across various sectors allow us to increase purchasing volumes and secure better conditions from our suppliers. Individual processes will also be streamlined over the longer term through the introduction of electronic requisitioning procedures.
The further steep rise in the prices of energy and oil-based products seen in 2007 is likely to continue in 2008. The sustained strong demand from growth regions and geopolitical factors are the main but not the only drivers behind this development. We also expect the prices of processed corn products to remain at a high level. While the prices of processed milk products will probably ease a little from their present level, the underlying price trend will remain high.
Procurement management at HELIOS will face new challenges in the coming years but will be continuously improved. Clinics are treating more and more patients with greater needs in terms of medical supplies. In the combined efforts of the doctors and business economists, not only do responsible patient-oriented decisions have to be reached, but a balance has also to be maintained between quality and cost efficiency. This is a constant challenge. HELIOS has also developed a special concept for integrating newly acquired clinics into the group network and into the central procurement management system. The goal for 2008 is to integrate the newly acquired clinics and unlock cost-saving potential as swiftly as possible. HELIOS is also extending the requirements bundling, for example for drugs. Purchasing strategy at HELIOS includes a more widespread use of e-procurement at the individual clinics. Electronic procurement processes are to be introduced at all HELIOS clinics by the year 2010.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Our R & D activities will continue to play a key role in securing the Group’s long-term growth through innovations and new therapies. We are concentrating our R & D on products for the treatment of patients with chronic kidney failure. The emphasis will be on dialysis membranes, dialysis machines and other products. We are also focusing on other extracorporeal therapies, such as those used in the treatment of patients with liver disease and research into alternative regional anticoagulants, as well as our main research areas of infusion and nutrition therapies. We are also concentrating on targeted development in the biotechnology sector, mainly in the field of antibody therapies. Biotechnology research opens up possibilities for treating diseases which cannot be cured today, and offers Fresenius potential for further growth with innovative cancer therapies. Based on the encouraging results of a phase II/III study, the filing dossier was dispatched to the EMEA (European Medicines Agency), the European drug approval agency, at the end of 2007 for the approval of the antibody Removab® for the indication of malignant ascites. Fresenius Biotech expects a possible market introduction of this product in the indication of malignant ascites – subject to approval – at beginning of 2009. Further clinical studies with the antibodies Removab® and Rexomun® for various indications are ongoing.
We are planning to invest more in research and development in 2008. The increase should be higher than the expected organic growth rate in sales. The number of employees in research and development will also be increased.
Market-oriented research and development with strict time-to-market management processes is crucial for the success of new products. Using clearly defined milestones, we continually review our R & D results.
