Baxter HealthCare launches Finomel in the European Union to provide parenteral nutrition.

Baxter International Inc. a global leader in clinical nutrition, announced the European launch of Finomel, a ready-to-use triple-chamber bag for parenteral nutrition (PN). Finomel expands the company�s portfolio of leading premixed PN formulations and offers healthcare providers with additional options to meet adult patients� diverse nutritional needs. For clinicians who prefer to prescribe PN products containing fish oil, Finomel delivers 7.6g/L of fish oil, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which is at least 33 percent more than any other fish oil-containing premixed PN product currently on the market. Finomel contains a four-oil lipid emulsion comprised of soybean oil, medium-chain triglycerides, olive and fish oil.

Hospitalized patients can develop malnutrition and may require PN therapy if they cannot be fed orally or enterally (tube feeding). PN therapy is the intravenous administration of nutrients including amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids, electrolytes, vitamins and trace elements. PN plays a critical role in helping achieve better health outcomes, as malnutrition can have a serious impact on hospitalized patients. Hospitalized adults who have been diagnosed with malnutrition have a longer length of stay, higher cost and up to five times the likelihood of death, compared with other adult inpatient stays.

Finomel is the result of an exclusive license and distribution agreement between Baxter and JW Holdings Corporation. Baxter holds the marketing authorization of the product and JW Life Science Corporation, a subsidiary of JW Holdings, will manufacture it. Additional details about the agreement were not disclosed.