Baxter Provides Update on Puerto Rico Recovery Status Post Hurricane Maria
October 12 2017 - 4:15PM
Business Wire
- Supporting Baxter employees and
communities with humanitarian aid and supplies
- Resumed limited production at all
Puerto Rico manufacturing sites
- Activated global manufacturing
facilities to help support product supply for U.S.
- Company expects to mitigate earnings
impact from Hurricane Maria
Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) today shared updates
regarding recovery efforts following the impact of Hurricane Maria
on its Puerto Rico operations. While the company currently
anticipates a reduction in revenue for fourth quarter 2017 as a
result of the storm, the company expects to mitigate the related
earnings impact through positive performance in other areas of the
business. The company will provide its financial outlook for the
fourth quarter on its third quarter earnings conference call
scheduled for October 25, 2017.
Baxter’s three Puerto Rico manufacturing sites sustained minimal
structural damage from the impact of Hurricane Maria, and limited
production activities resumed across its facilities within one week
of the storm. Manufacturing operations are being driven by diesel
generators designed to power the facilities and satellite
communications are also being used to restore connectivity and
support plant operations.
Baxter appreciates the support and assistance of local and
national government agencies and is coordinating with
infrastructure providers to advance restoration activities for
power, communications and transportation.
Supporting Product Supply
Baxter remains focused on helping ensure patients have continued
access to the products and therapies they need. In Puerto Rico,
Baxter manufactures products used across the hospital setting, from
premixed injectables to products used in the delivery of
medications. The medications made in Puerto Rico are small volume
parenterals, such as 50mL and 100mL presentations (brand names
Mini-Bag and Mini-Bag +). These products are used primarily in the
pharmacy to compound or admix a medication or to aid in the
delivery of medication. Baxter is working closely with customers
and has taken proactive steps to responsibly manage inventory
distribution as its Puerto Rico operations continue to ramp up
production.
Baxter has activated a global response to support recovery from
the devastating impact of the natural disasters in Puerto Rico. In
advance of the hurricanes, Baxter implemented a hurricane
preparedness plan to help mitigate potential impact, including
proactively moving some finished product off the island and into
secure storage. Baxter is also delivering products to customers on
the island to help address patient need. Additionally, Baxter has
been working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and
has recently been granted regulatory discretion for temporary
special importation of certain products from Baxter facilities in
Ireland and Australia to help support product supply for the U.S.
market. While these actions will help mitigate some of the
projected shortfall in supply, they will not be adequate to fully
bridge the gap in the near term. Baxter will continue to do
everything it can to ramp up production in Puerto Rico in the weeks
ahead and, with the support of special importation granting from
FDA, continue to utilize its other facilities to help address
product demand in the United States.
Contrary to select media reports, the company does not
manufacture large volume sterile solutions (often referred to as
“saline” or IV fluids), such as its 1 liter IV solutions, in Puerto
Rico; production of these products is therefore not impacted by the
storms and product is available to contracted customers.
Efforts to Support Employees and Communities in Puerto
Rico
The safety of Baxter’s employees, their families and the
community has been paramount. Baxter has confirmed the well-being
of nearly all of its more than 2,000 Puerto Rico-based employees.
Despite the devastating impact of the hurricane to their families
and communities, a majority of employees have returned to work
making products to support healthcare providers and meet the needs
of patients.
Baxter is helping employees procure necessities such as gas,
food, water and toiletries, and coordinated multiple daily flights
in the hurricane’s immediate aftermath to transport ~25,000 pounds
of needed supplies for employees. Additionally, the company has
established the Baxter Employee Disaster Relief Fund, where 100
percent of all employee contributions will go to assisting
colleagues in need.
Between the Baxter International Foundation and the generosity
of Baxter employees, approximately $3.5 million has been
contributed to disaster relief efforts generally over the last
several weeks, supporting those impacted by all of the recent
natural disasters affecting the Caribbean islands, Mexico and the
southern U.S. Additionally, Baxter has partnered with Americares
and Direct Relief to pre-position Baxter products to be first on
the scene in times of disaster.
Across communities in Puerto Rico, Baxter employees can also be
found supporting their neighbors – supplying water and ice,
providing access to heavy machinery and safety gear, preparing and
distributing thousands of meals and providing fuel to help keep a
local hospital running, among others.
“The devastation of Hurricane Maria is heartbreaking and
tragic,” said José (Joe) E. Almeida, Baxter chairman and chief
executive officer. “I met recently with many of our dedicated
employees in Puerto Rico, and I am both inspired and humbled by
their commitment to our mission, our patients, their communities
and each other in the face of the unimaginable damage and loss
they’ve experienced. Our mission to save and sustain lives calls on
us to give back in times of crisis; Puerto Rico has our
support.”
About Baxter
Baxter provides a broad portfolio of essential renal and
hospital products, including home, acute and in-center dialysis;
sterile IV solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral
nutrition; surgery products and anesthetics; and pharmacy
automation, software and services. The company’s global footprint
and the critical nature of its products and services play a key
role in expanding access to healthcare in emerging and developed
countries. Baxter’s employees worldwide are building upon the
company’s rich heritage of medical breakthroughs to advance the
next generation of healthcare innovations that enable patient
care.
This release includes forward-looking statements concerning the
company’s financial results, including estimates regarding the
estimated impact of Hurricane Maria on its fourth quarter 2017
revenues and the related impact on its earnings. 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: demand for and market
acceptance of risks for new and existing products, and the impact
of those products on quality or patient safety concerns; product
development risks; product quality or patient safety concerns;
future actions of regulatory bodies and other governmental
authorities, including the FDA, the Department of Justice, the New
York Attorney General and foreign regulatory agencies (including
with respect to the granting of temporary importation approvals);
failures with respect to compliance programs; future actions of
third parties, including payers; U.S. healthcare reform and other
global austerity measures; pricing, reimbursement, taxation and
rebate policies of government agencies and private payers; the
impact of competitive products and pricing, including generic
competition, drug reimportation and disruptive technologies;
global, trade and tax policies; accurate identification of and
execution on business development and R&D opportunities and
realization of anticipated benefits (including the recent
acquisition of Claris Injectables in July 2017); fluctuations in
supply and demand (including as a result of natural disaster or
otherwise); the availability of acceptable raw materials and
component supply; the inability to create timely production
capacity or other manufacturing supply difficulties; the ability to
achieve the intended results associated with the separation of the
biopharmaceutical and medical products businesses; the ability to
enforce owned or in-licensed patents or the patents of third
parties preventing or restricting manufacture, sale or use of
affected products or technology; the impact of global economic
conditions; fluctuations in foreign exchange and interest rates;
any change in law concerning the taxation of income, including
income earned outside the United States; actions taken by tax
authorities in connection with ongoing tax audits; breaches or
failures of the company’s information technology systems; loss of
key employees or inability to identify and recruit new employees;
the outcome of pending or future litigation; the adequacy of the
company’s cash flows from operations to meet its ongoing cash
obligations and fund its investment program; and other risks
identified in Baxter’s most recent filing on Form 10-K and other
Securities and Exchange Commission filings, all of which are
available on Baxter’s website. Baxter does not undertake to update
its forward-looking statements.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171012006419/en/
Baxter International Inc.Media ContactBill Rader, (224)
948-5353media@baxter.comorInvestor ContactClare Trachtman,
(224) 948-3085
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