DEERFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX), a global innovator in renal care, received guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clarifying the regulatory pathway for an innovative, home peritoneal dialysis (PD) solution system to improve patient access to home dialysis. The new system is designed to produce sterile PD solutions using a small water filtration device that would be placed in the patient’s home and integrated with Baxter’s unique AMIA automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) system with SHARESOURCE telehealth platform. Following FDA guidance, Baxter’s PD solution generation system will follow a regulatory pathway as a combination product, which is the process the agency uses for products that include a device and pharmaceutical component.

Baxter’s home solution system is the first known technology designed to reduce storage and weight handling requirements that come with traditional PD therapy. Today, patients must have space to store approximately a one-month supply of PD solutions, which could be up to 40 boxes, requiring significant storage space in a patient’s home. In addition, each box of PD solution weighs approximately 30 pounds and can present a burden for a patient to lift and carry around the home.

“The FDA’s guidance is a pivotal milestone in advancing our new system forward for use by renal patients in an expedient manner,” said Laura Angelini, general manager of Baxter’s Chronic Renal business. “These technology advancements have the potential to greatly enhance home dialysis therapy for patients by providing solution generation on-demand and eliminating some of the barriers that today may keep patients from the lifestyle benefits that home dialysis offers.”
Baxter plans to have the first patient on therapy with the new system, as part of a clinical trial in 2018. Regulatory submission is expected in 2019.

PD is a self-administered therapy managed at home by end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. The therapy works inside the body, using the abdominal lining (peritoneal membrane) as a natural filter to remove toxins from the bloodstream. PD solution dwells in the cavity before draining. The process then repeats itself three to four times during each therapy session. Solutions with higher concentrations of dextrose are sometimes used to remove higher amounts of fluid and waste that can be pulled from the body1.

Baxter’s PD solution generation technology is designed to integrate with AMIA and SHARESOURCE, and allow a physician to tailor the treatment regimen for each patient. Baxter’s new system would provide physicians the flexibility to prescribe different dextrose concentrations for each dwell cycle, depending on each patient’s needs.

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