Baxter to Divest Renal Services and Focus on Products

The intent to divest the majority of the services component of its renal business was announced by Baxter International, Inc. (Deerfield, IL, USA). The company plans to focus primarily on products used in the treatment of kidney disease.

The total service operations to be divested accounted for about 13% of the Renal Division's 2001 sales of US$1.9 billion. Baxter's renal services products include the US-based RMS Disease Management and RMS Lifeline as well as the Renal Therapy Services (RTS) dialysis centers, located outside the US. The company will retain some RTS centers that are integral to its renal products business in certain markets. The majority of the RTS centers to be sold are located in Latin American and Europe. Baxter entered the renal services business in 1995.

"After evaluating our current business strategy, we believe that Renal's long-term growth can be enhanced by increasing our focus and resources on expanding our product portfolio in peritoneal dialysis, hemodialysis, continuous renal replacement therapy, and pharmaceuticals,” said Alan Heller, senior vice president and president of Baxter's renal business. "We believe that by selling these businesses at this time to organizations that are more focused on providing services, they will have greater opportunities for further growth.”




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