Nikkiso America said it closed the buyout of Baxter‘s (NYSE:BAX) continuous renal replacement therapy business for an undisclosed sum.
San Diego-based Nikkiso America is the U.S. division of Japanese industrial giant Nikkiso Co. (TYO:6376). The company’s medical division is known for its blood purification and dialysis products. The CRRT product line includes the Aquarius system, a dialysis device originally manufactured by Nikkiso.
Nikkiso will now be responsible for the marketing, distribution and manufacturing of the full line of products. The company will also take on the 85 employees that are connected with the CRRT product line.
“Nikkiso is a pioneer in blood purification products. For more than half a century, Nikkiso has addressed the needs of caregivers while focusing on improving treatment outcomes for the patients who use these therapies. This acquisition brings Nikkiso’s global position in chronic blood purification therapies together with Baxter’s legacy acute renal therapy product line, providing us with an opportunity to expand our presence in the ICU market,” Nikkiso America CRRT president Thomas Kelly said in prepared remarks.
Baxter won CE Mark approval in the European Union for its VIVIA home hemodialysis system last month. The VIVIA system is designed to be operated mainly by a patient, for “more frequent, extended duration, short daily or nocturnal home [high-dose] therapy,” Baxter said. The device will 1st become available this year in a limited number of dialysis clinics, with the commercial launch slated for expansion to other European countries in 2015.