For more than 70 years, Baxter has dedicated itself to saving people's lives. We do this by offering products and services that help treat people with some of the most challenging medical conditions, including cancer, hemophilia, immune deficiencies, infectious diseases, kidney disease and trauma. Use of our products to end lives contradicts everything we're in business to do - provide life-saving therapies.
Baxter markets products such as pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride for very important and legitimate medical uses. These products have been used safely and effectively for decades. Pancuronium bromide is commonly used with anesthesia to keep patients from moving during surgery and to keep critically ill patients who are receiving ventilation during recovery more comfortable. Potassium is a critical element to the normal functioning of our body, and along with sodium, is present in all cells throughout our body and important for proper functioning. There are several disease states where potassium is lost inappropriately from the body through excretion in the urine and therefore it is important that potassium be replaced to correct these deficiencies. Clearly, use of these products like these to carry out the death penalty in our nation's prisons falls outside the use and dosage approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Addressing the complex issue of capital punishment by withdrawing these products from the market, however, would adversely affect the millions of patients each year who need these products.
Baxter does not control the application of these products, which are widely used and available through many sources, not just directly through Baxter. Our products are sold through a variety of channels, including wholesalers and distributors, buying groups, and hospitals, who then make the product available to the end-user. We focus our efforts on actively educating licensed medical professionals about the use of our products, as approved by regulatory authorities and described in the product label and package insert. Nevertheless, it remains lawful, as well as standard medical practice, for health care providers to administer products for uses that are not approved.
While we cannot control how our products are administered, it is our intent that our products be used in a safe and appropriate manner.
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