News Release

BAXTER AWARDED MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT BY VETERANS HOSPITALS AS EXCLUSIVE PROVIDER OF INTRAVENOUS SOLUTIONS AND SETS

DEERFIELD, Ill., December 10, 2003 - Baxter Healthcare Corporation announced today that it has been awarded a multi-year contract by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the exclusive sale of its intravenous solutions and sets to the more than 170 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in the United States. The company estimates the award will total an expenditure by the Department of Veterans Affairs of more than $80 million over the term of the contract. The products available under the contract offer a broad spectrum of solutions to manage the safe and cost-effective administration of intravenous medications and the devices used to deliver them. These products include large volume parenteral solutions, premix intravenous (IV) medications, irrigating solutions and IV administration sets.

"We look forward to providing the Veterans Affairs Medical Centers with products that will offer a high level of efficiency and safety in the administration of intravenous medications," said David Bonderud, president of Baxter's U.S. medication delivery business. "We are proud to be able to differentiate the value of our offering based on our innovative products and technologies, including Baxter's ENLIGHTENEDHRBC bar code system, which raises the bar on patient safety when it comes to the administration of intravenous solutions."

The company's advanced bar code technology, ENLIGHTENEDHRBC bar code system, provides more detailed information than standard medication bar codes, going significantly beyond product identification to help clinicians enhance patient safety. Baxter's ENLIGHTENEDHRBC bar code features a 14-character Uniform Code Council/European Article Number (UCC/EAN), which is a globally recognized identifier used for automated tracking of products. Unlike other intravenous medication bar codes, a secondary bar code features the lot number and expiration date, which is scanned to help hospitals ensure that the drugs subject to recall will not be delivered to patients, and that patients will not receive medication that has expired.

Baxter has a more than 70-year legacy of developing products that work together to drive efficiency, value and a safer health care environment. The company was the first to introduce flexible, closed-systems for the delivery of intravenous medications and needleless access systems, as well as the first and only infusion pump to offer automatic tube-loading. Baxter has pioneered products that help reduce errors throughout the medication management process by advancing technology and improving the interface between technology and clinicians. Baxter offers a comprehensive and integrated suite of products designed to help reduce medication errors including, the COLLEAGUE CX Infusion Pump with GUARDIAN feature, ENLIGHTENEDHRBC Bar Code Technology, CLEARLINK Needleless Access System, SYNDEO PCA Syringe Pump, and the Patient Care System - a wireless patient information and medication management system. For more information about Baxter's comprehensive patient safety portfolio and related resources, visit www.baxter.com/products/medication_management/patient_safety/index.html.

Baxter Healthcare Corporation is the principal domestic operating subsidiary of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX). 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.

(Colleague, ENLIGHTENEDHRBC , ClearLink, Guardian, Syndeo and Baxter are registered trademarks of Baxter International Inc. and its affiliates.)

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