Baxter appoints new member to board of directors

Baxter International has announced the appointment of Wayne T Hockmeyer to its board of directors, with this selection becoming effective in September this year.

Dr Hockmeyer is the founder of biotechnology firm MedImmune – a company focused on the development of treatments for oncology, inflammatory disease and infectious condition.

He was employed as chairman of its board and chief executive officer from 1988 to 2000, becoming chairman and president of MedImmune Ventures after that prior to the recent acquisition of MedImmune by AstraZeneca.

The acquisition of MedImmune was completed in June 2006, with the Maryland-based company being purchased for the sum of $15.6 billion (7.8 billion pounds) and becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca.

Dr Hockmeyer is currently a director of GenVec, Idenix Pharmaceuticals and Middlebrook Pharmaceuticals.

Robert L. Parkinson Jr, chairman and chief executive officer of Baxter, said: “Wayne is an exciting addition to our board of directors and we welcome the strong executive, scientific and operational experience he brings.”

He added that Dr Hockmeyer’s skills in science, research and development will be extremely valuable in helping the company reach its objectives for growth and innovation.

Last month, Baxter reported stronger-than-expected financial results for the second quarter of the 2007 fiscal year, recording sales of $2.8 billion, up seven per cent on the comparable quarter last year.