The story
History
Baxter International was founded in 1931 by Donald Baxter, a Los Angeles-based medical doctor, as a manufacturer and distributor of intravenous therapy solutions. Seeing a need for products closer to the Midwest, the company opened a manufacturing plant in Glenview, Illinois, in 1933. Baxter's interest was bought out in 1935 by Ralph Falk, who established a research and development function. In 1939, the company developed a vacuum-type collection container, extending the shelf life of blood from hours to weeks. In 1954, the company expanded operations outside of the United States by opening an office in Belgium. In 1956, Baxter International introduced the first functioning artificial kidney, and in 1971 became a member of the Fortune 500.
In 1971, Baxter built a major manufacturing plant in Ashdod, Israel. As a result, the company was placed on the Arab League boycott list in the early 1980s.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the company expanded to deliver a wider variety of products and services (including vaccines and a greater variety of blood products) through acquisitions of various companies. Sales and production facilities also expanded throughout the world.
In 1982, Baxter acquired Medcom, Inc., a New York-based firm founded by Richard Fuisz and his brother, that had large markets in the United States and Saudi Arabia. Baxter chief executive Vernon Loucks fired Fuisz who then brought anti-boycott charges against Baxter to the U.S. Commerce Department Office of Anti-Boycott Compliance (OAC). Fuisz alleged that Baxter had sold their profitable Ashdod facility to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in 1988 while simultaneously negotiating the construction of a similar plant in Syria in partnership with the Syrian military in order to be removed from the Arab League blacklist in 1989. In 1993, Baxter pleaded guilty to a felony in relation to an anti-boycott law in the United States.
On July 15, 1985, American Hospital Supply Corporation CEO Karl D. Bays and Baxter's then-CEO Vernon R. Loucks Jr. signed an agreement that merged two of the United States' "largest producers of medical supplies". This was a "one-Baxter approach" in which the company provided "70% to 80% of what a hospital needed."
In 1991, Baxter's home infusion subsidiary, Caremark International, "was accused by the government of paying doctors to steer patients to its intravenous drug service" In 1992, Caremark spun off from Baxter International. Caremark was fined $160 million for the "four-year-long federal mail-fraud and kickback" scheme in which the "home-infusion business unit made weekly payments to scores of doctors that averaged about $75 per patient for referring those patients to its services. Some doctors earned as much as $80,000 a year from the kickbacks, according to government documents."
In 1996, the company entered into a four-way, $640 million settlement with haemophiliacs 1999 in relation to blood clotting concentrates that were infected with HIV. Under pressure from shareholders due to poor performance and an unsuccessful merger, Loucks was forced to resign.
Baxter acquired medical device firm Baxa on November 10, 2011. In 2011, Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC completed the acquisition of Baxter Healthcare Corporation's US generic injectables business (Multi-Source Injectables or MSI).
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In July 2013, EU antitrust regulators approved Baxter's bid for Sweden's Gambro.
In March 2014, Baxter announced plans to create two independent global healthcare companies—one focused on developing and marketing bio-pharmaceuticals and the other on medical products. The medical products company retained the name Baxter International Inc. and the bio-pharmaceuticals company is named Baxalta and spun-off as a new public company that showed on trading boards as of July 1, 2015.
In July 2014, Baxter announced that it was exiting the vaccines business—divesting its commercial vaccine portfolio to Pfizer (with the sale expected to close by the end of the year) and exploring options for its vaccines R&D program, including influenza. In October 2015, José E. Almeida was named chairman and chief executive officer. In January 2016 Shire PLC agreed to acquire Baxalta for $32 billion.
In December 2016, Baxter announced it would acquire Claris Lifesciences injectables subsidiary, Claris Injectables, for $625 million.
In December 2019, the company announced it would acquire Seprafilm from Sanofi for $350 million.
In September 2021, Baxter announced it would acquire Hill-rom for $12.4 billion. The acquisition was completed in December 2021 for $12.5 billion.
In May 2023, Baxter announced it was selling its biopharma solutions business, which offers drugmakers support in the form of products like injectable delivery systems and services that include regulatory resources, help with drug formulation and development, and packaging capabilities, to private equity firms Warburg Pincus and Advent International for $4.25 billion in cash.
In August 2024, Baxter agreed to divest its kidney care business unit, Vantive, to private equity firm Carlyle Group for $3.8 billion.
In September 2024, Hurricane Helene caused significant flooding in North Carolina, affecting a Baxter International facility in Marion. This facility produces approximately 60% of the intravenous (IV) fluids used in the United States. The disruption led to nationwide IV fluid shortages, prompting hospitals to ration supplies and implement strategies to conserve fluids. This also prompted questions from medical professionals about why such a large portion of the country's IV manufacturing capacity is tied to a single facility. As of November 7, 2024, the facility resumed producing some IV fluids. However, with the onset of flu season, hospitals continued to prioritize conservation efforts.
2009 drug cost inflation
On July 2, 2009, Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway announced a settlement between the state and Baxter Healthcare Corporation, a subsidiary of Baxter International, worth $2 million. The company had been inflating the cost of the intravenous drugs sold to Kentucky Medicaid, at times as much as 1300%.
From Wikipedia’s article on Baxter International, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.8