News Release

BAXTER INTERNATIONAL INC. NAMES MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE PRESIDENT TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

DEERFIELD, Ill., February 25, 2003 -- Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) today announced that James R. Gavin III, M.D., Ph.D., has been elected to serve as a member of its board of directors. Gavin, 57, is currently the president of the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia.

"We are pleased and proud to have Dr. Gavin join Baxter's board of directors," said Harry M. Jansen Kraemer Jr., Baxter chairman and chief executive officer. "His experience in academia and in the field of medicine, as well as his overall scientific expertise will add significant value and insight to our team."

Gavin was appointed president of the Morehouse School of Medicine in July 2002. Prior to that, Gavin served as senior scientific officer at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a nonprofit medical research organization, for more than a decade. In addition to his work as a physician, Gavin has spent much of his career in academia, holding numerous professorial positions, including posts at The University of Oklahoma and Washington University School of Medicine. At The University of Oklahoma, Gavin served as chief of the Diabetes Section, acting chief of the Section on Endocrinology, Metabolism and Hypertension, and the William K. Warren Professor for Diabetes Studies. Gavin is a past president of the American Diabetes Association and is currently chair of the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP).

Gavin received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Livingstone College and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Emory University. He earned a MD degree from Duke University in 1975 and completed residency at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.

Gavin is the author or co-author of more than 180 scientific articles and abstracts, including numerous in-depth studies of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. He has served on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Physiology, the American Journal of Medical Sciences and Academic Medicine.

Gavin is a member of the board of trustees for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Duke University. He also serves as non-executive chairman of the board of directors of Equidyne Corporation and a director of MicroIslet, Inc.

Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, assists health-care professionals and their patients with treatment of complex medical conditions, including cancer, hemophilia, immune disorders, kidney disease and trauma. The company applies its expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to make a meaningful difference in patients' lives.

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