Baxter, the U.S largest medical manufacturer focusing on making intravenous and peritoneal dialysis solutions, has recently announced that its North Cove facility, which shut down last month due to flooding caused by Hurricane Helene, released the first produce 1-liter IV solutions, the size most commonly used by hospitals.
According to the company, it plans to restart peritoneal dialysis solutions and irrigation manufacturing lines in early December, and all lines will be restarted by the end of the year.
In addition, Baxter also received FDA authorization to extend the beyond-use dates of more than 50 IV and irrigation codes to provide up to an additional 12 months of expiry. This extension only applies to products manufactured before the end of September 2024 while previous products still have a 24-month expiry period from the date of manufacture.
In late September, Baxter’s North Cove site suffered flood damage from Hurricane Helene, interrupting production. This also made the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention alert healthcare providers to plan for supply disruptions that could affect patients.
According to the American Hospital Association, Baxter’s facility offers about 60% of the IV fluid for hospitals in the U.S. To bolster the domestic supply of IV solutions until the site returns to full production capacity, the FDA helped facilitate the temporary importation of 23 different IV and peritoneal fluids from other Baxter facilities across the world.
After restarting two production lines, one in late October and the other in early November, the company expects that two manufacturing lines of peritoneal dialysis (PD) solutions and irrigation will be back to work in early December to reach 100% allocation by the end of 2024. In the meantime, the company also has activated nine plants across its global manufacturing network to help increase available inventory.
The North Cove plant is Baxter’s largest manufacturing plant, having more than 2,500 employees. According to the company, the Baxter International Foundation supported employees and communities impacted by Hurricane Helene with a fund of more than $4 million, which is over $2.5 million for employees through Baxter’s Employee Disaster Relief Fund and $1.5 million for three humanitarian partners.
mage Source: Annie Spratt on Unsplash
