Talk:Baxter International

Neutrality

I am tempted to put a neutrality banner on this article. It reads as a history of Baxter's accomplisments and nothing else. What about noteworthy negative items, i.e. in 1998 clinical trials of their their blood substitute HemAssit were stopped by the FDA when 20 people died. Baxter closed a $110 million plant in Switzerland and lost $500 million in research investment because of this.--Gregoryg72 05:20, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

That is probably appropriate, the article needs alot of work in general, I think all of the information on the page now came from their web page. --Theblog 17:22, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

I have attempted to add REFERENCED information to the article, but for some apparent reason, the 'Company' seems to modify the article. I hope they can maintain a NPOV and allow the general public (even users of their products for that matter) to add factual information to the article.

MrAnderson7 (talk) 00:14, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

Really? The article seems mostly negative to me. Says very little about Baxter's historical developments. (?like didn't they come up with the IV bag which replaced the fragile glass bottle?) Feldercarb (talk) 01:22, 29 August 2009 (UTC)

Bubble Oxygenator

The article lists this as a development of the 1970s. I was product manager for bubble oxygenators in 1969, and they were by no means a new product at that time. Lou Sander 15:58, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

Baxter's dialysis filters as a possible cause of 31 deaths in Spain and Croatia

This piece of information should be added to the article. Here are some external links:

US company at centre of dialysis scare

L.E. Feldman & Associates about Baxter's dialysis filters

Rosier 17:29, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

Antiboycott case

The antiboycott case was said that it cost $6.6 million. Can someone talk about it?

There's more here Richard_Fuisz

WikiProject class rating

This article was automatically assessed because at least one WikiProject had rated the article as start, and the rating on other projects was brought up to start class. BetacommandBot 14:54, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

Most of the article's content had to be removed

Almost the entire article was copied directly from Baxter's website, which explicitly reserves copyrights. It would be very helpful if somebody could add some basic additional (non-copyvio) content about the company, since now the article is pretty barren. I'll do it if I get a chance, but I encourage anybody who is willing to do so. There was also some recent news about recalled Baxter heparin, which is probably noteworthy (but I'd hesitate to add that without more background substance for the article). Zahnrad (talk) 11:40, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

Dark info

The Baxter canister scandal was a CIA assasination attempt against the known kidney patient Osama bin Laden. The tampered crates got mixed up at the port and went to free world patients, who died and UBL is still at large. 82.131.210.162 (talk) 10:45, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Suggested Edits to the Products and Competitors Sections

As official Baxter representatives, we would like to suggest changes to the Products and Competitor sections as they are currently out-of-date. Any feedback is appreciated before we move forward in making these changes.

The products section will be edited to reflect the latest list of product areas which can be found on the Baxter Web site (http://www.ecomm.baxter.com/ecatalog/browseCatalog.do?lid=10001&cid=10016). The new list will be as follows:

Biopharmaceuticals
Hemophilia Therapies
Antibody Therapies
Critical Care
Pulmonology
BioSurgery
Vaccines

Medication Management
Infusion Pumps
IV Fluids and Medications
IV Tubing and Access Devices
Parental Nutrition
IV Anesthesia
Pain Pumps
Regional Anesthesia
Anesthetic Pharmaceuticals
Chemotherapy agents
Elastomeric Pumps
Cellular Therapy

Renal
Peritoneal Dialysis
Hemodialysis
Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy

We also suggest that the competitor section list the following companies:

   * ABT = Abbott Laboratories

   * B. Braun Medical, Inc.

   * CSL Limited

   * FMS = Fresenius AG

   * Gambro

   * HSP=Hospira Incorporated
  —Preceding unsigned comment added by BaxterInternationalInc (talk • contribs) 19:31, 18 March 2009 (UTC) 

Feb 27, 2007 Section Suggested Changes

The following section is out of date and inaccurate, as of 3/18/09. We suggest removing this information and adding any future content on the pump recall to the "Quality Issues" section. Latest information on the pump can be found here: http://www.baxter.com/products/medication_management/infusion_pumps/large_volume_infusion_pumps/colleague/colleague_status.html#letters

"February 27, 2007 After the 2003 pump recall, Baxter received notice on 2/27/2007 from the FDA that the pump would now be available for medical use (Baxter.com news at [1])" —Preceding unsigned comment added by BaxterInternationalInc (talk • contribs) 20:13, 18 March 2009 (UTC)

Quality Issues Section Suggested Changes

The following statement under "2008 Chinese Heparin Contamination" is inaccurate and we suggest that it be removed: "Baxter did not pick up on the contamination until after the FDA became involved." We would like to replace this statement with the following content: "Baxter identified the issue by detecting an unusual increase in allergic-type reactions. Baxter worked with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), initiated a voluntary recall, temporarily suspended the manufacture of heparin, and launched an investigation to understand the cause of the reactions."

In addition, we would like to add the following copy: "Though Baxter was first to recall heparin because of increased adverse reactions, after the contaminant was identified and testing protocols were shared with other manufacturers globally, over a dozen other companies in nearly a dozen countries issued recalls, which linked back to certain supply points in China."

History Section Suggested Changes

The History section as listed is out of date. We will be replacing this section with the updated history information currently on the Baxter Web site: http://www.baxter.com/about_baxter/company_profile/sub/history.html

Avian Flu Contamination Section Suggested Changes

We recommend changing the content in this section to reflect the accurate information that appeared in a March 16, 2009 Financial Times article. The information currently in this section is based on sources that are not credible or of questionable credibility.

Here is our proposed change:

According to a March 16, 2009 Financial Times article, public health officials are studying the need for tighter controls on the transport of biological products after Baxter inadvertently supplied samples of the H5N1 bird flu virus to a series of European laboratories. This scrutiny follows an incident that recently came to light when samples of H5N1 from Baxter's Austrian labs contaminated batches of the less harmful H3N2 seasonal flu virus that it was supplying under a commercial contract to a customer, Avir Greenhills Biotechnology. It somehow mixed with H3N2 before distribution last December to Avir, and the more potent virus was detected by a subcontractor in the Czech republic last month after it rapidly killed ferrets exposed to the viruses. Avir had also sent samples to Slovenia and Germany.

Baxter stressed that the H3N2 strain had been made "replication defective", and was handled in tightly controlled laboratories purely for experiments, so there was little chance it could have led to an outbreak threatening humans. It also stressed that all staff potentially exposed were tested and given antiviral treatment to prevent any infection.

"The material was handled appropriately in all steps of the process in the right conditions," said Chris Bona, a Baxter spokesman. "The experimental material was produced exclusively for laboratory testing, was not used for product production and was not for use in humans." Mr. Bona stressed that Baxter had since taken "corrective preventative actions" and its procedures had been approved by the Austrian authorities. —Preceding unsigned comment added by BaxterInternationalInc (talk • contribs) 17:32, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

The current article contains "Baxter claimed the failed controls over the distribution of the virus were 'stringent' and there was 'little chance' of the lethal virus harming humans, apart from its deadly effect." I didn't know dark sarcasm was allowed in encyclopedic content, although it certainly makes this grim section more entertaining. 66.68.113.5 (talk) 16:13, 8 October 2009 (UTC)

History Section Suggested Changes

We recommend shortening text associated with "1993" to the following to ensure consistency with other entries in this section:

"Baxter pleads guilty to federal charges of inadvertently violating laws against aiding the Arab League's boycott of Israel and is ordered to pay 6.5 million in fines."

We also recommend moving or removing the following text, as the event is not associated with a particular year - but, rather, a period of time: "Hhemophiliacs implicate Baxter in a lawsuit for supplying contaminated haemophilia blood products[3], after they became infected with HIV." —Preceding unsigned comment added by BaxterInternationalInc (talk • contribs) 15:17, 12 June 2009 (UTC)

I disagree on the shortening/modification, due to the referenced nature of the material. Unfortunately the rest of the history isn't referenced, so one would assume it did not come from a factual source. If a section isn't part of a particular year, does not mean it can be removed completely. The history section was placed there merely due to the lawsuit either finishing or starting at that time. This related to a particular year...MrAnderson7 (talk) 00:21, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

Concerns With Recent Changes

I have concerns with some of the changes/deletions recently made to the Baxter International entry, which have resulted in an unbalanced article.

In particular, key factual information about Baxter's business functions (2008 sales, in-depth descriptions) has been removed, even though this information was properly sourced and brought readers a greater understanding about the company. I agree that the history and products sections were not necessary to this entry, but it's important to note that the products section had listed Baxter's therapeutic areas (i.e., hemophilia, vaccines) and did not mention Baxter product names (per Wikipedia standards).

What is currently listed under the Baxter International entry places an unfair, unbalanced emphasis on controversies. If the approach taken by user WLU to edit the Baxter entry is advocated by Wikipedia, I would have to assume that similar entries are treated the same way. This calls into question the basic tenants of fairness and equity by which all Wikipedia users must abide.

As a user affiliated with Baxter, I would like to reiterate Baxter's positioning statement (see my user info) which clearly states how we will support the Wikipedia community in its aim to produce a neutral and reliably sourced encyclopedia. In particular - "We fully abide by Wikipedia's three core content policies (i.e., Neutral Point Of View, Verifiability, No Original Research) and will not use Wikipedia for self-promotion."

I propose re-including the following modified background information on Baxter International to the first section of the entry (sourced to Baxter's Annual Report). In addition, I propose removing the final sentence in this section on controversies as they are already covered in depth within the controversies section.

- Baxter manufactures products in 26 countries and sells them in more than 100, with more than half of its sales coming from outside the United States

- The company operates in three business segments:

BioScience (2008 sales: $5.3 billion)
Baxter’s BioScience business is a manufacturer of recombinant and plasma-based proteins to treat hemophilia and other bleeding disorders; plasma-based therapies to treat immune deficiencies, alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, burns and shock, and other chronic and acute blood-related conditions; products for regenerative medicine, such as biosurgery products and technologies used in adult stem-cell therapies; and vaccines.

Medication Delivery (2008 sales: $4.6 billion)
Baxter’s Medication Delivery business manufactures products used in the delivery of fluids and drugs to patients. These include intravenous (IV) solutions and administration sets, premixed drugs and drug-reconstitution systems, pre-filled vials and syringes for injectable drugs, IV nutrition products, infusion pumps, and inhalation anesthetics, as well as products and services related to pharmacy compounding, and drug formulation and packaging technologies.

Renal (2008 sales: $2.3 billion)
The Renal business provides products to treat end-stage renal disease, or irreversible kidney failure. It is a manufacturer of products for peritoneal dialysis (PD). Products include PD solutions and automated cyclers that provide therapy overnight. The business also distributes products for hemodialysis, which generally takes place in a hospital or clinic.

- Baxter increased its R&D spending 14 percent in 2008, to $868 million —Preceding unsigned comment added by TGLcomms (talk • contribs)

I'll look into this when I have time, but per our guidelines on the use of talk pages, do not address other editors in the headings. It's discouraged by our guidelines, and it's a great way to engender hostility on the part of other editors. I've retitled. WLU (t) (c) Wikipedia's rules:^simple/_complex 16:59, 23 June 2009 (UTC)

The page is unbalanced to the controversies (though it's hard to fill out pages on companies as most news articles focus on controversies) and I will try to address this by finding sources on google. I've not forgotten about the page, but it's not exactly a high priority to me, nor is it fun to edit. WLU (t) (c) Wikipedia's rules:^simple/_complex 18:31, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

Recommended Additions to Baxter Entry

The Baxter entry continues to be heavily focused on controversies and is significanly unbalanced. Understand that self-published sources must be minimized -- however, given that some recent overview information added to the article was sourced to the Baxter.com corporate overview, it must be noted that this same source contains basic information about the company that should be considered for this entry. It is unrealistic to assume that most traditional media stories about a company will devote huge sections to a general company overview - that's not their purpose.

Continue to believe that it is redundant to include information about controversies in the lead when most of the current article is about controversies. On behalf of Baxter, our goal is to support the Wikipedia community in its aim to produce a neutral and reliably sourced encyclopedia and - per Wikipedia guidelines - we will continue to use the talk page to suggest (but not make) edits unless they are minor in nature.

--TGLcomms (talk) 19:12, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

I don't care what your goal is, wikipedia's goal is to build an encyclopedia based on reliable sources. The most useful way you can assist in this is to provide and suggest sources.

Your suggestion about removing mention of the most substantial portion of the article is unjustified per WP:LEAD. WLU (t) (c) Wikipedia's rules:^simple/_complex 20:45, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

What? Nothing on their cooperation with Bayer?

What? Nothing on their cooperation with Bayer in the HIV infected hemopheliac medicine scandal?

HIV infected Blood Products Main article: Contaminated haemophilia blood products

A cite from http://www.haemophilia-litigation.com/, access date 31.05.2006:

• "After 1978, there were four major companies in the United States engaged in the manufacture, production and sale of Factor VIII and IX: Armour Pharmaceutical Company, Bayer Corporation and its Cutter Biological division, Baxter Healthcare and its Hyland Pharmaceutical division and Alpha Therapeutic Corporation, which have been or are defendants in certain lawsuits.

• The plaintiffs allege that the companies manufactured and sold blood factor products as beneficial "medicines" that were, in fact of likely to be contaminated with HIV and/or HCV. This resulted in the mass infection and/or deaths of thousands of haemophiliacs worldwide.[21]

• It is believed that three of these companies, Alpha, Baxter, and Cutter, recruited and paid donors from high risk populations, including prisoners (i.e. prison-based collections), intravenous drug users, and plasma centers with predominantly homosexual donors, esp. in cities with large populations thereof, to obtain blood plasma used for the production of Factor VIII and IX. Plaintiffs allege that these companies failed to exclude donors, as mandated by federal law, with a history of viral hepatitis. Such testing could have substantially reduced the likelihood of plasma containing HIV and/ or HCV entering plasma pools."[22][23][24] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.215.44.195 (talk) 15:52, 20 October 2009 (UTC)

Suggested Updates to Opening and Structure Sections

One of the sources referenced in this article is no longer available at the URL provided. The “Corporate Overview” from Baxter’s website (given as #2 and #9 in the list of references) had been updated with 2009 figures and information and is available at: http://www.baxter.com/about_baxter/company_profile/corporate_overview.html. On behalf of Baxter, I’m proposing the following updates to those sections in this article that currently reference this source.

• Opening Section Update:

The company had 2009 sales of $12.6 billion, across three manufacturing divisions: BioScience (producing recombinant and blood plasma proteins to treat hemophilia and other bleeding disorders; plasma-based therapies to treat immune deficiencies and other chronic and acute blood-related conditions; products for regenerative medicine; and vaccines); Medication Delivery (producing intravenous solutions and other products used in the delivery of fluids and drugs to patients, as well as inhalation anesthetics and contract manufacturing services); and Renal (providing products to treat end-stage renal disease, or irreversible kidney failure, including solutions and other products for peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis).

• Structure Section Update:

Sales in 2009 were 42% in the United States, 33% in Europe, 13% in Asia Pacific, 8% in Latin America and 4% in Canada. In 2009, Baxter had approximately 49,700 employees. The breakdown of regional employees in 2009 was 41% in the United States; 30% in Europe; 14% in Asia Pacific; 12% in Latin America; and 2% in Canada. In 2009, Baxter International spent $917 million on research and development.

Also, I would like to update the 2008 figures currently in the chart in the Structure section to 2009 sales and the corresponding percentage of total sales. These figures are also provided in the "Corporate Overview" reference above.

--BNcomms (talk) 20:37, 21 October 2010 (UTC)

Proposed Change to Baxter Entry

I recommend replacing the last three paragraphs that have been added to the H1N1 vaccine section recently. This Wikipedia article already contains a section (in the “controversies” section) discussing the events described here, and the sources that are provided for these three paragraphs are not related to the content. Since the section on this same topic that appears in the "controversies" section cites articles from Bloomberg, The Canadian Press, and the Financial Times for its content, I suggest replacing the last three paragraphs in the “H1N1 vaccine” section with: “See “2009 avian flu contamination” section below for more information.”

BNcomms (talk) 19:11, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

Proposed Change to Introduction

In October 2010, Baxter combined its Medication Delivery and Renal businesses into a single global business unit, Medical Products. I would like to make the following changes to update the current introductory section to reflect 2011 sales data and this new organizational structure.

In the first paragraph, I propose making the following change, from the company's 2011 annual report: http://www.baxter.com/downloads/investors/reports_and_financials/annual_report/2011/index.html:

"The company had 2011 sales of $13.9 billion, across two businesses: BioScience and Medical Products (in October 2010, the company combined its Medication Delivery and Renal business into a single global business unit, Medical Products). Baxter’s BioScience business produces recombinant and blood plasma proteins to treat hemophilia and other bleeding disorders; plasma-based therapies to treat immune deficiencies and other chronic and acute blood-related conditions; products for regenerative medicine; and vaccines. Baxter’s Medical Products business produces intravenous solutions and other products used in the delivery of fluids and drugs to patients; inhalation anesthetics; contract manufacturing services; and products to treat end-stage renal disease, or irreversible kidney failure, including solutions and other products for peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis."

EVComms (talk) 21:22, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

Proposed Change to Structure Section

In October 2010, Baxter combined its Medication Delivery and Renal businesses into a single global business unit, Medical Products. I would like to make the following changes to update the current structure section to reflect 2011 sales data and this new organizational structure.

In the “Structure” section, I propose making the following change, from the company's 2011 annual report: http://www.baxter.com/downloads/investors/reports_and_financials/annual_report/2011/index.html and the Corporate Overview section of the company's website: http://www.baxter.com/about_baxter/company_profile/corporate_overview.html:

"In October 2010, Baxter combined its Medication Delivery and Renal businesses into a single global business unit, Medical Products. The company had 2011 sales of $13.9 billion, across two businesses: BioScience (2011 sales - $6.0 billion) and Medical Products ($7.8 billion).

Sales in 2011 were 41% in the United States, 32% in Europe, 15% in Asia Pacific and 12% in Latin America and Canada. In 2011, Baxter had approximately 48,500 employees. The breakdown of regional employees in 2011 was 40% in the United States; 30% in Europe; 16% in Asia Pacific and 14% in Latin America and Canada. In 2010, Baxter spent $946 million on research and development."

Also, I would like to update the content currently in the chart in the Structure section to reflect 2011 sales and the company's current business structure.

EVComms (talk) 18:30, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

Proposed Change to History Section

I'd like to propose reversing the recent change made to the history section, which added "and the involvement of renown Dentist, Dr. Mark Heiss, key employee at the "real" Baxter (a.k.a. Baxter Travenol)" to this existing sentence, "Vernon Loucks became president and CEO in 1980; throughout the 1980s and 1990s the company expanded to deliver a wider variety of products and services (including vaccines, a greater variety of blood products) through acquisitions of various companies."

We believe that this added information is inaccurate. It also doesn't cite a source that can be used to verify the information.

EVComms (talk) 18:53, 28 January 2013 (UTC)