Baxter to divide into two companies

Baxter International Inc. announced plans to create two separate, independent global healthcare companies -- one focused on developing and marketing innovative biopharmaceuticals and the other on life-saving medical products. The biopharmaceuticals business with 2013 annual revenues of more than $6 billion consists of a diverse portfolio of recombinant and plasma-based proteins to treat haemophilia and other bleeding disorders, and plasma-based therapies to treat immune deficiencies, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, burns and shock, and other chronic and acute blood-related conditions. The medical products business, with 2013 annual sales of more than $9 billion, offers a broad portfolio of intravenous (IV) solutions and nutritional therapies, drug delivery systems and administration sets, premixed and other injectable drugs, as well as inhalation anaesthetics and hospital-based biosurgery products. This business is also integrating the Gambro AB acquisition, which complements Baxter's existing renal therapies franchise and provides customers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services to treat end-stage renal disease across the full continuum of care.The medical products company will retain the Baxter International name.The new biopharmaceuticals company will be named at a later date. The corporate headquarters of both companies will be located in northern Illinois.