German pharmaceutical company Bayer AG has tempered last month’s news of a partnership with Schering-Plough Corp. of New Jersey – which will have an impact on about 1,800 primary care sales and marketing positions – with the promise that a new oncology group will be based in West Haven.

But the company isn’t yet releasing the number of new positions that might become available in that group, according to Staci Gouveia, senior communications representative for the company.

The company has 1,500 employees in its West Haven offices, but hasn’t said if any of those employees will be affected by the partnership, saying only that West Haven will remain home to groups that are now located there.

The company will not be looking for additional space for the oncology group, Gouveia said. The West Haven facilities are large enough to house the new division.

The Oncology Business Unit, which will prepare for the anticipated approval of one of Bayer’s new cancer drugs, will have some job openings as it begins operations over the next few months, Gouveia said, but she did not specify how many positions may become available.

Bayer announced last month that Schering-Plough would market and distribute its primary care pharmaceutical products in the United States.

“Following the targeted expansion of our consumer-focused business with the planned acquisition of Roche Consumer Health, we have now reached another strategic milestone for Bayer HealthCare,” said Werner Wenning, Bayer AG’s chairman of the board, in a prepared statement. “The alliance with Schering-Plough will take advantage of the regional strengths of both companies. It will help us adapt cost structures and resources in the United States to meet our strategic financial objectives and better exploit the potential of our products and, at the same time, further expand our business in Japan.”