FRANKFURT, Oct 8 (Reuters) -

Germany's Fresenius said it was checking options

to speed up the start of new production lines of medical

equipment at a North Carolina facility to help mitigate

potential shortages from hurricane damage to rival Baxter's

site in the same state.

"We are working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's

Drug Shortage Staff, which is actively engaged with Baxter and

other manufacturers" to assess whether and by how much capacity

has to be increased, Fresenius said in a statement.

The Germany-based healthcare group said its generic hospital

drugs unit Fresenius Kabi had recently started manufacturing

intravenous (IV) solutions at a new facility in Wilson, North

Carolina, and that it was checking options to start up more

production lines faster than planned in the unaffected location.

Hurricane Helene slammed into the Florida Gulf coast in late

September, tearing a destructive path through southeastern U.S.

states, ripping up roads, tossing homes about and severing lines

of communication. In its wake, hundreds of people were

unaccounted for and many confirmed dead.

On Sept. 29, medical device maker Baxter said its North Cove

site had been affected by hurricane-related flooding and was

closed for production. It said it was working with the

government to assess the damage and bring the plant back online

as quickly as possible.

Baxter said in a statement on Monday it was working with

government agencies, including the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration, on special importation requirements for certain

sites and products located outside the United States.

"We have moved finished goods from our North Cove site that

were not impacted by the storm and are inspecting other finished

goods onsite. This inventory will be used to support current

allocations in the short term," Baxter said in a statement.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Additional reporting by Christy

Santhosh in Bengaluru;

Writing by Friederike Heine

Editing by Madeline Chambers and Devika Syamnath)