Baxter spinoff to set up R&D center near Boston

Baxter International Inc.’s biopharmaceuticals business plans to create a research-and-development center near Boston.

The biopharmaceuticals business, which Deerfield-based Baxter plans to spin off next summer as Baxalta Inc., expects to have 400 research-and-development employees at the center as well as others involved in areas such as business development and oncology. The R&D employees will be moved there from California and Europe, the company said.

Baxalta said it will keep some research-and-development operations in Vienna, Austria, and will have its corporate headquarters in northern Illinois.

“Critical elements to our success as an independent biopharmaceuticals company will be our ability to accelerate innovation, optimize R&D productivity, and deliver on our promise to patients. Joining this unmatched biotech community is an important step,” said Ludwig Hantson, president of Baxter BioScience.

Baxter said it expects to open the first phase of its 200,000-square-foot center late this year.

Last month media reports from the Boston area suggested Baxter intended to move its headquarters to a laboratory and office complex in Cambridge after the spinoff. Baxter denied the reports and reiterated that Baxter and Baxalta would be headquartered in northern Illinois.