Baxter: Received Subpoena Regarding 'Colleague' Pumps
29 Oktober 2009 - 11:51PM
Dow Jones News
Baxter International Inc. (BAX) said Thursday that it had
received a subpoena last month seeking documents regarding its
long-troubled Colleague fluid infusion pumps.
The subpoena came from the U.S. Attorney of the Northern
District of Illinois, Baxter said in a 10-Q filing with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. The company said it is fully
cooperating with the request.
Baxter also disclosed in the filing that it now faces, along
with other companies, nine lawsuits filed in various U.S. federal
courts alleging that Baxter and certain competitors "conspired to
restrict output and artificially increase the price of
plasma-derived therapies since 2004."
Baxter disclosed three months ago that one hospital customer had
filed a lawsuit on the matter. Industry dynamics in the plasma
market came into focus earlier this year when the U.S. Federal
Trade Commission blocked CSL Ltd. (CSL.AU) from acquiring Talecris
Biotherapeutics Holdings Corp. (TLCR) for $3.1 billion amid
concerns the industry "already operates as a tight oligopoly."
The Colleague pumps are a long-running trouble spot for the
Deerfield, Ill., company. They were first pulled from the market in
2005 amid a host of problems and defects linked to some deaths, and
Baxter has found other issues with the pumps since then, including
software glitches identified in a January letter to customers.
Baxter shares were recently down 30 cents to $53.99 in
after-hours trading after slipping 24 cents during Thursday's
regular trading hours.
-By Jon Kamp, Dow Jones Newswires; 617-654-6728;
jon.kamp@dowjones.com