Pharma/Biotech Update: Baxter To Add Public Company in 2015

Baxter International Inc. has announced plans to spin-off it’s biotech division and make that area of business its own company.  Baxter is among many healthcare companies to have done this over the years to focus more on primary operations.  In this case, the area of focus is bleeding disorders, specifically hemophilia.

“I have been a strong advocate of the diversified healthcare model,” Chief Executive Officer Robert Parkinson said in a Reuters press release, “and I will tell you there remain distinctive advantages and value drivers of that model…the question is when did the merits of a spin-off begin to generate more value, and it is our view today, we are at that point.”

This is not the first time Baxter has spun-off and split into other companies. In the past 30 years, Baxter has spun off other companies including Edwards Lifesciences Corp, Caremark Corp and Allegiance Healthcare Corp.

Baxter’s biotech business, which includes plasma-based proteins and recombinant factor medications to treat hemophilia and other bleeding disorders, is reported to have had a 2013 revenue of $6 billion. Ludwig Hantson, president of its BioScience group, will lead the new, currently unnamed biopharmaceutical company in 2015.

Photo Credit – Baxter International Inc.

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