About the Company
Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, Baxter International Inc. is a multinational healthcare company. It was founded in 1931 by Donald Baxter as a distributor and manufacturer of intravenous therapy solutions and was then named Intravenous Products Corporation. It was also the first commercial manufacturer that prepared IV solutions in the United States.
Within a couple of years, the company introduced its containers for blood collection and storage, known as TRANSFUSO-VAC. This helped medical practitioners to store blood for almost 21 days, making blood banking possible. In the next few decades, it made several remarkable breakthroughs. Among them, a few that stand out include the introduction of PLASMA-VAC containers, launching of unbreakable plastic containers, development of the first artificial kidney, introduction of peritoneal dialysis (PD), etc.
At the onset of 1970, the company introduced the first-ever flexible plastic IV container called VIAFLEX. This product revolutionised the medical industry enabling transfusions within a closed system, thereby reducing the risk of contamination. In 1971 it entered the Fortune 500 list, and by 1974 its MINI BAGs had entered the market.
Between 1980 and 1999, it has introduced several new products such as the INFUSOR pump, INTERLINK IV Access System (a needleless IV therapy system), HOMECHOICE (automated peritoneal dialysis) and TISSEEL. Within the same time, it acquired the American Hospital Supply Corporation in 1985 and Ohmeda’s Pharmaceutical Products Division in 1998.
Baxter specialises in surgical care, nutritional care, renal care, hospital care and critical care products. As of 2020, the company offered a vast range of medical products under 12 different categories like Enteral & Oral Syringes, Anaesthesia & Critical Care, IV & Irrigation Solutions & Drug Reconstruction, Advanced Surgery, Haemodialysis, Acute Renal Therapy, Peritoneal Dialysis, Pharmaceutical Injectables etc. Few of its key products are BREVIBLOC (Esmolol hydrochloride), Frozen Premix Systems, Enteral ENFiT Syringe and Accessory Line, DIACLEAR Ultrafilter and Sevoflurane, USP.
It is an S&P 500 component and held a workforce of about 48,000 employees as of 2017. It trades under the ticker symbol BAX in the New York Stock Exchange.
Many prestigious authorities have recognised the company over the years for its contribution to the medical world. In 2018 it acquired a position in the Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s list of 100 Corporate Citizens. The same year Forbes recognised it in its list of America’s Best Large Employers.;
Organisation | Baxter International Inc |
Industry | Medical Instruments & Supplies |
HeadQuarters | Deerfield, IL |