Baxter to set up $1-bn plant for plasma-based therapies
21 Apr 2012
Global healthcare company Baxter International Inc will build a manufacturing facility in Covington, Georgia, as part of its efforts to expand its plasma-based treatments for immune disorders, trauma and other critical conditions, the company said yesterday.
The capital investment for the plant is expected to exceed $1 billion over the next five years. It will also create more than 2000 jobs across the country.
''This investment demonstrates our long-term commitment to patients around the world who rely on our plasma-based therapies,'' said Robert L Parkinson, Jr, Baxter's chairman and CEO.
The new Covington site will include operations supporting plasma fractionation, purification, fill-finish and a testing lab. Commercial production is scheduled to begin in 2018.
In connection with this investment, the company also expects to create more than two hundred new positions in Illinois, including jobs associated with expanded filling and finishing capacity at its existing manufacturing facility in Round Lake, Ill.
The company reported healthy first quarter financial results, which exceeded its previously issued revenue and earnings per share (EPS) guidance.