Baxter inks supply deal for key blood-derived meds

Baxter International ($BAX) aims to beef up capacity for its plasma-derived meds through its new manufacturing services deal with Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation in the Netherlands. Among other efforts to gain more plasma fractionation capacity, the pact with Sanquin provides Baxter with up to 1.6 million liters of output annually, the company announced Thursday.

With production to start in 2014, the deal has an initial term of 10 years and boosts capacity of plasma fractionalization for Baxter as the Deerfield, IL-based company builds up its own infrastructure for its plasma-derived therapies used to combat immune disorders, hemophilia, trauma and other cases in critical care settings. Baxter pays a fixed price to Sanquin, but no other financial details of the agreement were disclosed in Baxter's release.

In April, Baxter detailed plans to spend more than $1 billion on a brand new plant near Covington, GA, where the company plans to gain 3 million liters of plasma fractionation capacity per year. However, Baxter won't get added capacity from the planned Georgia facility until the plant starts production in 2018. So the Sanquin contract gives the company a capacity boost during the years leading up to the activation of the new plant and beyond.

In the Sanquin pact, Baxter will provide the plasma that the Netherlands nonprofit will turn into the bulk material used in plasma-based products such as Gammagard Liquid/Kiovig for immune deficiency and Flexbumin for burn patients and other critical care conditions. Plus, Sanquin is expected to do filling and finishing for Baxter's Immunate. Gammagard is also being tested to treat patients with Alzheimer's disease.

- here's the release
- see the article from Fox Business