Dive Brief:
- Baxter plans to restart its highest throughput manufacturing line for IV solutions within the next week, “barring any unanticipated developments,” the company said on Thursday.
- Baxter is working to restore production at a North Carolina plant that makes about 60% of the U.S. supply of IV fluids, and is an important supplier of peritoneal dialysis solutions, according to the American Hospital Association.
- The company still has not shared a timeline for restoring full production at the facility after it was flooded by Hurricane Helene in early October. Baxter’s goal is to begin resuming production in phases by the end of the year.
Dive Insight:
Baxter has been working to bring back manufacturing at its North Carolina facility and ramp up manufacturing at other sites as hospitals have warned about shortages of IV solutions. Any product produced at the site would be distributed in mid- to late November at the earliest, Baxter said.
Baxter has also received authorization from the Food and Drug Administration to temporarily import fluids from seven global sites.
The company did not change current hospital allocations, but said it hopes to reach 90% to 100% allocation of certain IV solution product codes for U.S. customers by the end of 2024.
Baxter also expects to accept more new patients for dialysis “on a limited basis in the next few weeks.” The company had limited new dialysis patient starts to people under 18 years old.
The North Carolina plant, Baxter’s largest, was flooded and access bridges were damaged by Hurricane Helene. Baxter said on Thursday that it has accounted for all 2,500 people who work at the facility.
The site is structurally sound, utilities have been restored and deep cleaning has been completed for production rooms, the company said. Baxter has constructed a temporary bridge and hopes to complete a second temporary bridge by early November.
In the meantime, competitor B. Braun Medical has increased production of IV solutions, and Fresenius Medical Care is upping its production of IV fluids and dialysis products.