Baxter Ties Up with Baiyunshan Pharma in China

Deerfield, IL-based Baxter International and China’s Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical will set up a venture to make intravenously delivered nutrition products, according to Reuters News Service.

The medical device manufacturer said the partners would form the 50-50 venture in the first half of 2007 and invest a total of between $65 million and $70 million over the life of the project.

The venture will start by making Baiyunshan’s products and gradually expand to include Baxter’s products. Baiyunshan will provide production facilities in the city of Guangzhou, while Baxter will contribute manufacturing and marketing expertise.

Baxter may increase its share of the tie-up to 60 percent via an additional cash injection two years after the venture is established, the Chinese company said.

Baiyunshan is a medium-sized Chinese drug maker, posting sales of $81 million in the third quarter of this year.

In March, Baxter announced it would invest $60 million to expand manufacturing capacity in China. Along with the Baiyunshan project, this is expected to boost the company’s China sales to more than $300 million by 2010 from an estimated $130 million this year, Baxter said.