About
www.baxa.com
Baxa, a customer-focused medical device company, provides innovative, solution-based technologies for fluid handling and delivery. Its systems and devices promote the safe and efficient preparation, handling, packaging, and administration of fluid medications. Privately held, Baxa Corporation has subsidiaries and sales offices in Canada and the United Kingdom; sales infrastructure in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands; and distribution partners worldwide. Further information is available at http://www.baxa.com.
- Status
- Private Company
- Founded
- 1975
Company History
Baxa Corporation was founded in 1975 by Brian Baldwin and Ronald Baxa. At the time, oral liquid medications were dosed with teaspoons or graduated cups. Inaccurate and even dangerous doses resulted. Additionally, the use of luer syringes to deliver non-sterile oral liquid medications raised the possibility of accidental injection. The Exacta-Med? Oral Dispenser, with a special tip that does not accept a needle, was designed to provide a highly accurate, completely safe method for dosing oral liquid drugs. The Exacta-Med dispenser quickly became the industry standard, and remains a key part of the Baxa product line today.
Encouraged by the success of the oral dispenser products, the company began exploring ways to improve on other time-consuming procedures involving fluid medications. In 1987, Baxa entered a new technologic phase with the introduction of the Exacta-Med Pharmacy Pump (now the Repeater™ Pump). This peristaltic pump was the first ever designed exclusively for the pharmacy, and it quickly became apparent that this technology would provide the key to developing a number of innovative products and systems. This technology remains at the core of Baxa compounders and pharmacy pumps.
The Repeater Pump, originally designed for batch filling of oral medications and IV admixtures, proved to be more versatile than anticipated. Designed to be accurate to within 0.2 mL, the pump's success in the pharmacy pointed to a need for a single compounding pump to handle both micro and macro additions for TPN solutions. Baxa then developed a unique valve controller for the selection of multiple ingredients, and in 1989 introduced the MicroMacro™ TPN Compounder at the ASHP (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) Mid-Year Clinical meeting.
It became clear that further advances with the Repeater Pump technology would come through the software that managed the equipment's operation. A software team took on the task of creating operating software for the MicroMacro TPN Compounder and in 1991, Baxa acquired Apothecary Software's TPN-PC™ and TPN-PC Plus™. These software packages automated TPN calculation and verification, prepare labels, and manage patient records. Baxa then integrated and refined these packages to create a complete system for TPN compounding. The Abacus? TPN Calculation Software, released in 2003, replaced the TPN-PC products with a Windows? platform and graphical user interface. This software, and the EM2400 Compounder, released in early 2002, represent the state-of-the-art for multi-ingredient solution compounding.
In partnership with customers and suppliers, Baxa has fostered an environment of continuous product improvement, which leads to product refinements and new product development. Among more recent Baxa product innovations are the MicroFuse? Syringe Infuser. Designed for intermittent, fixed-rate drug delivery, the syringe infuser provides a
simple and low-cost alternative to proprietary minibag delivery systems and expensive infusion pumps. Custom rate infusers offer delivery for niche drugs and 24-hour infusion therapies.
The Rapid-Fill? Automated Syringe Filler, launched in 2003, supports the concept of syringe infusion by automating the filling, capping and labeling of sterile batch syringes. Baxa also has a complete line of filtration products for admixture and venting to round out their pharmacy product line.
With the achievement of certification to ISO in 1997, and certification to EN46001 (CE) in 1998, Baxa demonstrated that it designs, develops, manufactures, and services medical devices which consistently meet high quality standards at all stages of the process. At Baxa Corporation the motto is, "The Customer is our only Boss," and it's backed by dedicated customer-support specialists and 7-day/24-hour technical assistance. In a crowded and highly specialized field, Baxa Corporation has built its reputation on providing "quality beyond expectations."