Baxter To Spin-Off New Cardiovascular Company -- Edwards Lifesciences
Edwards was an electrical engineer credited with co-inventing the first commercially available artificial heart valve, among many other medical advancements. In the 1950s, Edwards founded a medical device company that would later become American Edwards Laboratories, which was subsequently acquired by Baxter in 1985. Edwards Laboratories introduced the first implantable heart valve, the first hemodynamic monitoring balloon catheter, the first catheter to remove clots from peripheral blood vessels, and the first disposable bubble oxygenator for heart-lung bypass.
Edwards Lifesciences will be an independent, publicly traded company developing products and services for treating late-stage cardiovascular disease. Through its brands—including Bentley, Carpentier-Edwards, Cosgrove-Edwards, Fogarty, Research Medical, Starr-Edwards, and Swan-Ganz—the business has nearly $1 billion in annual sales.
The new company will be headquartered in Irvine, CA, where the Baxter CardioVascular Group is based. The Irvine facility employs more than 1,400 people and is home to an advanced heart-valve manufacturing facility Edwards Lifesciences will conduct business in more than 80 countries and have approximately 5,000 employees worldwide.
Baxter is a global medical products and services company that provides critical therapies to treat life-threatening conditions. Baxter's CardioVascular Group offers products and services to treat late-stage cardiovascular disease, focusing on cardiac surgery, critical care, vascular and perfusion products and services.
For more information: Baxter International Inc., 1 Baxter Pkwy., Deerfield, IL 60015. Tel: 847-948-2000 or 800-422-9837. Fax: 847-948-3948.