GUANGZHOU, China, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Baxter International Inc. and Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. today announced plans to establish a joint venture to produce and sell parenteral nutrition products in China.
Under the terms of a framework agreement, subsidiaries of the two companies will form a 50/50 joint venture during the first half of 2007. The companies expect to invest between (US)$65 and $70 million over the life of the joint venture. The agreement is subject to government review and approval.
To establish the new business, Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical will contribute its existing parenteral nutrition business and assets located in Guangzhou, China, through one of its subsidiaries, Baiyunshan Qiaoguang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Baxter will help fund the venture and strengthen its product line, and manufacturing, clinical, and marketing expertise.
The new business will manufacture and sell current Qiaoguang parenteral nutrition products and gradually expand its portfolio to include Baxter’s products. “By combining our expertise in the domestic parenteral nutrition market with Baxter’s technology and product pipeline, customers will receive a wider selection of quality parenteral nutrition products and experience a higher level of customer support,” said Xie Bin, Chairman of Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.
“The joint venture will allow us to improve access to care by expanding the availability of Baxter’s innovative parenteral nutritional products to patients, physicians and pharmacists in China,” said John J. Greisch, Baxter’s president of International Operations. “The agreement also reflects the importance of China to Baxter’s continuing geographic expansion and growth.”
The joint venture follows Baxter’s previously announced (US)$60 million capacity expansion of its existing manufacturing facilities in China. In 2006, the company expects overall sales in China of approximately (US)$130 million. With the formation of the joint venture and its planned capacity expansion, Baxter expects sales in China to exceed (US)$300 million by 2010.
Parenteral nutrition products are delivered intravenously and provide essential dietary components that enable healing and normal body function. The products are used primarily by hospitals in clinical settings such as surgical, critical care, oncology and intensive care wards.
About Guangzhou Baiyunshan
Established in 1992, Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. develops, manufactures and markets both Chinese and western pharmaceuticals through its affiliated companies and five facilities in China. Guangzhou Baiyunshan is an A-share listed company on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (Stock code: 000522). In 2005, the company achieved accumulative revenue of over $356 million.
Baiyunshan Qiaoguang, a subsidiary of Guagnzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical, is a reputable healthcare company in China with the core competency in parenteral nutrition products including lipids, amino acids, premix drugs and antibiotics.
About Baxter
Baxter was one of the first global companies to enter China’s healthcare market. Beginning in the 1980s, Baxter established offices and large plants in major cities in China. Today Baxter China has 1,500 employees in the country and a number of facilities, including sales offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Jinan and Wuhan, and plants in Suzhou, Tianjin, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Baxter provides hospitals throughout China with a range of intravenous solutions and specialty products that are used in combination for fluid replenishment, general anesthesia, nutrition therapy, pain management, antibiotic therapy and chemotherapy. The company also serves a growing population of patients within the country with products and services to treat end-stage kidney disease.
Baxter’s Medication Delivery business is a global leader in parenteral nutrition with experience that spans 40 years. By applying the company’s proprietary technologies and expertise in drugs, devices, disposables and software, Baxter helps providers and patients meet their nutritional needs. The nutrition business product portfolio includes automated compounding devices, multi-chamber bags, macronutrients and micronutrients used in clinical settings.
Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, assists healthcare professionals and their patients with treatment of complex medical conditions, including cancer, hemophilia, immune disorders, kidney disease and trauma. The company applies its expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to make a meaningful difference in patients’ lives.
This release includes forward-looking statements concerning the planned joint venture and the parenteral nutrition therapy market in China. The statements are based on assumptions about many important factors, including the following, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements: the execution of definitive documents establishing the joint venture; actions of regulatory bodies and other governmental authorities; changes in laws and regulations; the ability to develop products based on Baxter’s technologies; product quality or patient safety concerns; product development risks; demand for and market acceptance risks for new and existing products and other technologies; the ability to enforce patents; numerous other matters of national, regional and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive and regulatory nature; and other risks identified in Baxter International Inc.'s most recent filing on Form 10-Q and other SEC filings, all of which are available on the company’s website. Neither Guangzhou Baiyunshan nor Baxter undertakes to update its forward-looking statements.
Baxter International Inc.
CONTACT: Media, Deborah Spak, +1-847-948-2349, or Erin Gardiner,+1-847-948-4210, or Investors, Mary Kay Ladone, +1-847-948-3371, or ClareTrachtman, +1-847-948-3085, all for Baxter International Inc.
Web site: http://www.baxter.com/
