Baxter International (Baxter, Deerfield, IL, USA) is planning expand its US manufacturing facility to help address the growing global demand for dialyzers, a critical component in hemodialysis therapy (HD).

Baxter will invest nearly USD 300 million in the Opelika (AL, USA) manufacturing site, adding 21,300 m² of space and several production lines to accelerate the growth of the dialyzer business unit, which also operates a manufacturing facility in Halle (Germany). The expansion follows the September 2013 purchase of dialysis company Gambro (Stockholm, Sweden) for about USD 3.9 billion, turning the dialysis products business into Baxter’s largest and fastest growing franchise. During the second quarter of 2014, Baxter generated revenues of USD one billion in dialysis product revenues, an increase of 60% over the previous year.

The company, which currently employs about 170 people at the US facility, anticipates it will begin the hiring process of an additional 200 workers in 2016 to support the expansion, which is when the first commercial production on the new lines is slated to begin. The expansion will also assist Baxter in its strategic process of spinning out its therapeutics business into a separate company, and expects to make executive appointments in the fall of 2014. It also plans an investor meeting during the second quarter of 2015 to help outline the two companies.

“Baxter's expansion in Opelika will provide increased production of dialyzers, which are a critical component to the delivery of hemodialysis, a life-sustaining therapy for patients with end-stage renal disease,” said Robert L. Parkinson, Jr., chairman and CEO of Baxter. “In addition to supporting a greater number of patients having access to therapy, the expansion is an investment in the communities where our employees live and work. The collaboration with Governor Robert Bentley, Mayor Gary Fuller and the many other local officials was a key component of our expansion plan.”

There are nearly two million patients worldwide with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) receiving HD therapy, a process by which waste and excess fluids are removed from the body by processing blood through a dialyzer; the filtered blood is then returned to the body. A growing population with diabetes, blood pressure issues, and other key causes of kidney disease, means the incidence rate of ESRD and the need for dialysis is also growing by an estimated 6%–7% annually around the world.

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