MISSISSAUGA, ON, Nov. 4, 2014 /CNW/ - Baxter Corporation today announced it is investing $10 million to build a new facility in Mississauga, Ontario for its Centralized Intravenous Admixing Pharmacy Service (CIVA). Triple the size of the current facility, the new Baxter CIVA Pharmacy Service will expand Baxter's ability to meet the needs of Canadian hospitals, clinics and other care facilities for ready-to-administer intravenous (IV) admixtures including chemotherapy, high alert medications and anti-infectives, enabling pharmacists to focus on more direct patient care and clinical activities.
Baxter's new CIVA facility will double its number of clean rooms available to support customized requirements for hazardous and non-hazardous IV admixing and the company anticipates expanding the workforce by approximately 25 positions over the next few years. Additionally, the new CIVA will include a new training facility through which Baxter will partner with professional organizations, academia, and hospital pharmacists and technicians to support their certification requirements and help maintain their skillset in IV admixing. The company expects to open and transition operations to its new CIVA facility in October 2015.
"Pharmacy practice is a dynamic environment and since its inception Baxter CIVA has worked closely with healthcare partners to develop innovative solutions," says Mike Oliver, President, Baxter Corporation. "The new CIVA facility will triple its current size, helping to accommodate increasing and evolving customer needs for ready-to-administer medications and sharing best practices in IV admixing. We are very excited about the journey ahead for CIVA and engaging with our partners about the value Baxter can provide as an extension of their pharmacy services."
"I'm delighted that Baxter has chosen Ontario to continue their investment in high quality patient care services. Baxter has been a long-standing healthcare leader and innovation partner in Ontario, and our growing life sciences ecosystem and innovation agenda has greatly benefited from their leadership to date. This investment highlights the caliber of innovation investments that are being made in Ontario, and we congratulate Baxter on this recent achievement," says Minister Brad Duguid, Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure.
Baxter CIVA works with hospital pharmacies to help increase the IV admixing capacity of their in-house pharmacy without additional capital investment or headcount to provide specific therapies required for patient care while reducing drug waste and cost through extended shelf life and maximized use of each milligram across admixtures. Baxter CIVA also helps organizations mitigate their risk through reduced staff exposure to hazardous cytotoxics such as chemotherapy drugs; and provides full traceability of all medications used in admixtures. With tailored ordering and delivery schedules, Baxter CIVA also provides options of solutions which can be stored at room temperature to free up refrigerator space.
Reflecting Baxter's desire to continuously elevate IV admixing practice, plans for the new CIVA facility feature state-of-the-art quality and regulatory design specifications, reflecting protocols, standards and best practices that Baxter has derived from its 28-years of Canadian expertise and globally from the company's experience with compounding and admixing regulatory requirements established in other countries. The new facility will also incorporate all new Canadian and international practice guidelines and standards from organizations such as the Institute of Safe Medication Practice (ISMP) and Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists (CSHP).
About Baxter CIVA Pharmacy Service
Baxter opened the first outsourced hospital admixing service in Canada in 1986 in partnership with Toronto General Hospital. For 28 years, Baxter CIVA Pharmacy Service has supported Canadian hospitals and clinics, providing admixing services customized to meet their unique requirements. Backed by Baxter's ongoing global investments in extended-use stability studies, Baxter CIVA from its current Mississauga-based facility provides batch and patient specific admixtures across Canada. Operated with licensed pharmacists, certified pharmacy technicians and a quality assurance team that specializes in safe and precise processes, Baxter CIVA aseptically admixes a broad range of commercially available medications encompassing oncology, anti-infectives (antibiotics), analgesics (pain management), nutrition, critical care and cardiology. This service supports healthcare institutions by providing drugs in a ready to administer format, enabling clinicians to focus on direct patient care. Baxter CIVA has undergone successful inspection as a drug preparation premise (DPP) by the Ontario College of Pharmacists and is compliant with all current provincial and federal regulations.
About Baxter Corporation
As the Canadian subsidiary of Baxter International Inc., Baxter Corporation manufactures and markets products that save and sustain the lives of people with hemophilia, immune disorders, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma and other chronic and acute medical conditions. As a global, diversified healthcare company, Baxter applies a unique combination of expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to create products that advance patient care worldwide. These products are used by hospitals, kidney dialysis centres, nursing homes, rehabilitation centres, doctors' offices, clinical and medical research laboratories, and by patients at home under physician supervision.
For more information about Baxter and CIVA Pharmacy Service, visit: www.baxter.ca.
This release includes forward-looking statements concerning Baxter's plan to open a new CIVA Pharmacy Service in Mississauga, Ontario. The statements are based on assumptions about many important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements such as the actions of licensing or regulatory bodies and other governmental authorities; changes in laws and regulations; product quality or patient safety concerns; and other risks. Baxter does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.
Image with caption: "A technician verifies labelling on an elastomeric device against the work order. Baxter CIVA supports Canadian hospitals with ready-to-administer intravenous admixtures including chemotherapy, high alert medications and anti-infectives. Each admixture undergoes rigorous quality processes to ensure aseptic technique, accuracy and quality. (CNW Group/Baxter Corporation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20141104_C5328_PHOTO_EN_7487.jpg
Image with caption: "Pharmacy technicians performing aseptic admixing in a clean room. Baxter CIVA operates with licensed pharmacists, certified pharmacy technicians and a quality assurance team that specializes in safe and precise processes. (CNW Group/Baxter Corporation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20141104_C5328_PHOTO_EN_7490.jpg
SOURCE: Baxter Corporation
Media inquiries: Alison Drinkwater, 905-369-6828; Heather MacDonnell, 905-369-6398
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