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Bayer Zsolt: Background to a Terminated Contract
🇭🇺 Hungary /Economy & Trade

Bayer Zsolt: Background to a Terminated Contract

From Magyar Nemzet · () Hungarian

Translated from Hungarian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

Analysis Named sources Context piece
  • A Hungarian politician's blog post refutes accusations that his wife sold plasma at a loss during her tenure as head of the National Blood Transfusion Service.
  • The blog post includes a letter from Octapharma AG terminating a plasma supply agreement, citing market changes and unsustainable pricing.
  • The author argues that the termination letter clearly states market conditions, not currency fluctuations, as the reason for ending the contract, contradicting media reports.

Bayer Zsolt, a Hungarian politician, has published a blog post to counter accusations that his wife, while leading the National Blood Transfusion Service (OVSZ), sold plasma at a loss. He claims the allegations are part of an eight-year smear campaign.

Bayer shared a letter from Octapharma AG, dated [date not specified in source], which details the termination of a plasma supply agreement. The letter, signed by Octapharma board member Matthew Riordan, states that the agreed-upon purchase price for fresh frozen plasma (FFP) is no longer sustainable due to changes in the plasma market and drug pricing. The contract was set to expire in February 2026, with the last price adjustment of 4.4% occurring then, setting the price at 59,564 HUF per kilogram.

Due to changes in the plasma market and the pricing of plasma-based drugs, the FFP procurement price according to the agreement no longer corresponds to current market conditions, thus it cannot be considered commercially sustainable. This is the main reason for the termination of the consortium agreement - and thus the plasma supply agreement.

— Octapharma AGQuoted from a letter terminating the plasma supply agreement.

"Due to changes in the plasma market and the pricing of plasma-based drugs, the FFP procurement price according to the agreement no longer corresponds to current market conditions, thus it cannot be considered commercially sustainable," the letter reads. Bayer emphasizes this as the primary reason for the contract's termination.

He criticizes media reports that he claims misrepresent Octapharma's stated reasons. According to Bayer, some reports suggest the company cited currency exchange rate fluctuations as the reason for termination. He asserts that Octapharma's letter explicitly points to market conditions and pricing, not currency issues, and that the price per kilogram was significantly higher than what his wife's administration allegedly sold it for.

The company cited currency exchange rate fluctuations.

— Unnamed media reportsDescribing the alleged reason for contract termination, as refuted by Bayer Zsolt.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Magyar Nemzet in Hungarian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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