Becton Dickinson ($BDX) is buying California's Safety Syringes, a maker of anti-needlestick devices, looking to bolster its injectable offerings.
BD didn't disclose the terms of the acquisition--which the company expects to close by year's end--but said it would be "minimally dilutive" for 2012 and wouldn't impact BD's earnings projections.
Safety Syringes markets the UltraSafe Passive Needle Guards, a line of techs designed to provide prefillable syringes a safety guard that automatically lock into place to prevent injury. The buyout is aimed to give BD's medical and pharmaceutical unit more options for injectable technology, company leadership said, and Safety Syringes' devices will help the company expand its prefilled syringes business.
"This pending acquisition is well-aligned to BD's strategy of applying technology and clinical knowledge to make healthcare more effective, efficient and safe," Executive Vice President William Kozy said in a statement. "Developments for parenteral drug delivery systems continue to be a part of BD's long-term strategy."
That long-term strategy has shifted over the past year, as BD sold off its Discovery Labware unit to Corning ($GLW) for $730 million. Since then, the company has refocused on diagnostics, upping its R&D spending to $476 million last year to develop new assays. And while BD reported a year-to-year earnings decline in the last quarter, the company notched 4.1% growth in its Dx business and has snagged regulatory nods for a few new assays this year.
- read the company's statement
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