Summary
Baxter International was founded in 1931 as the first commercial manufacturer of IV solutions in glass bottles. Baxter acquired Hyland Laboratories in 1952. The company moved into its current corporate headquarters in Deerfield, Illinois in 1975. Baxter acquired American Hospital Supply in 1985. Nextran became a wholly owned affiliate of Baxter in 1995 and Baxter spun off Allegiance in 1996. Baxter acquired Immuno International in 1997. In 1998, Baxter acquired both Ohmeda's Pharmaceutical Products Division and Somatogen, a biopharmaceutical company developing recombinant hemoglobin technology. In 2000, Baxter acquired Althin Medical, a leading manufacturer of hemodialysis products, as well as North American Vaccine, and spun-off of its cardiovascular business as a separate, publicly traded entity under the name of Edwards Lifesciences. 2001 saw Baxter acquiring Sera-Tec Biologicals, Cook Pharmaceutical Solutions, ASTA Medica Onkologie GmbH, AUTROS Healthcare Systems, followed by the acquisition of Fusion Medical Technologies in 2002. In February 2002, Baxter received regulatory approval in the Netherlands for its novel influenza vaccine, InfluJect. In December 2002, Baxter acquired the majority of ESI Lederle (ESI), a division of Wyeth, for approximately $305 million in cash.