AUSTRALIAN COURT SAYS GROUP CAN APPEAL BAXTER'S PROTECTION FROM TRADE LAW

Australia's High Court granted special leave for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to appeal findings by the country's Full Federal Court that Baxter Healthcare was protected from the application of the 1974 Trade Practices Act by crown (or sovereign) immunity, the ACCC said in a recent statement.

The ACCC in August 2006 had sought findings that Baxter had "breached the misuse of market power and exclusive dealing provisions" of the Trade Practices Act when it entered into long-term contracts of three to five years with purchasing authorities in various regions of the country, bundling the supply of sterile fluids with peritoneal dialysis products used by patients with kidney failure.

The ACCC release can be viewed at www.cch.com.au/document/attachments/040K1036.PDF (http://www.cch.com.au/document/attachments/040K1036.PDF).