Finally, a few reflections on the Bausch + Lomb acquisition. Since the transaction closed in August, I've spent a significant amount of time getting to know our operations and people around the world. I've been to Germany, France, the U.K., Sweden, Eastern Europe, China, Japan, Mexico, Canada and all of our locations in the U.S. multiple times. Probably, the best word I can use to sum of these travels is, excited. I'm excited about our new colleagues and I'm very pleased with the continued strong performance of the business during the integration process. I'm excited about the opportunity to streamline costs and to trim the fat without touching the muscle. The global and regional Bausch + Lomb infrastructure was inappropriate given the size of the business.
In fact, we should be able to exceed our synergy targets. I'm excited about our decentralized launch feed that has been embraced across the organization. I am convinced that better decisions will be made by people closer to the customers. And I'm most excited about the opportunity to adopt local business strategies and foresee local business development activities. I am convinced that we will accelerate our growth, by giving our country teams more say in how products are positioned and priced, and how they can be complemented by new products such as lower-cost surgical equipment, to meet local needs.
Finally, I am excited about the continued productivity of the Bausch + Lomb development team. Since we announced the deal, we have had 8 new product approvals and many more are on the way. As expected, our R&D spend will be higher in the first half of 2014 as multiple Phase III pharmaceutical programs will be reaching completion. We did not include any of these development programs in our deal model. We would hope some will succeed, so we can deliver more upside to all of you.
In fact, we should be able to exceed our synergy targets. I'm excited about our decentralized launch feed that has been embraced across the organization. I am convinced that better decisions will be made by people closer to the customers. And I'm most excited about the opportunity to adopt local business strategies and foresee local business development activities. I am convinced that we will accelerate our growth, by giving our country teams more say in how products are positioned and priced, and how they can be complemented by new products such as lower-cost surgical equipment, to meet local needs.
Finally, I am excited about the continued productivity of the Bausch + Lomb development team. Since we announced the deal, we have had 8 new product approvals and many more are on the way. As expected, our R&D spend will be higher in the first half of 2014 as multiple Phase III pharmaceutical programs will be reaching completion. We did not include any of these development programs in our deal model. We would hope some will succeed, so we can deliver more upside to all of you.