BAX Baxter International Inc

By Matt Grossman

Baxter International Inc. has received emergency-use authorizations from the Food and Drug Administration for equipment used to treat acute kidney injury, a complication that can affect Covid-19 patients, the company said Wednesday.

The authorizations are for two sets of devices used in continuous renal replacement therapy, which mimics the function of a healthy kidney by passing a patient's blood through a filter outside of the body. The sets have been approved for use in European countries for more than a decade, according to Baxter.

The approval will give hospitals greater flexibility in treating patients, Baxter executive Reaz Rasul said.

One of the sets is designed for use in patients weighing less than 20 kilograms, or about 44 pounds.

A limited supply of the devices will be available in the U.S. as soon as possible, Baxter said, and production of more sets will accelerate.

Write to Matt Grossman at matt.grossman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 12, 2020 09:31 ET (13:31 GMT)

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