Baxter: Customer Lawsuit Alleges Plasma-Market Conspiring

   By Jon Kamp 
   Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
   A Baxter International Inc. (BAX) hospital customer has filed suit in federal court alleging that Baxter and a competitor conspired to control supplies and prices of plasma-derived medical products, Baxter said in a regulatory filing Tuesday. 

Industry dynamics in the plasma market came into focus when the U.S. Federal Trade Commission recently blocked CSL Ltd. (CSL.AU) from acquiring Talecris Biotherapeutics Holdings Corp. for $3.1 billion. The FTC was concerned about shrinking the roster of competitors in a five-company industry that "already operates as a tight oligopoly."

Baxter, in a brief note in a 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, said a hospital customer filed suit with the allegations against Baxter and another company, which Baxter didn't name, on July 15. The filing was made in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The suit alleged "that Baxter and a competitor conspired to restrict output and artificially increase the price of plasma-derived therapies since late 2004," Baxter said. "The complaint attempts to state a claim for class action relief and demands treble damages."

Baxter said after the FTC concerns came to light that it has not engaged in any proper conduct.

-By Jon Kamp, Dow Jones Newswires; 617-654-6728; [e-mail]