Becton Dickinson ($BDX) has opened the doors of a new facility in Andover, MA, that's dedicated to R&D and manufacturing for novel products to better address the needs of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes patients. The center is part of a renewed effort for BD in diabetes, after it has suffered difficulties due to pricing erosion.
The move comes after BD announced in May that it had won an FDA clearance for a new insulin infusion set designed to improve flow that was a result of a collaboration between BD, patient advocacy group the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and the Helmsley Charitable Trust.
BD expects to launch this insulin infusion set next year with partner Medtronic ($MDT) it said in June. The set works with most existing insulin pumps, including those already marketed by Medtronic.
The company's diabetes products already include pen needles and insulin syringes. Its Diabetes Care business reported $247 million in revenues during the most recent quarter, a decline of 1.7% taking the currency impact into account. Overall, BD had about $2.1 billion in revenues that quarter, which was a decline of 1%.
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| Dr. Ellen Strahlman |
On the new diabetes center, BD CMO and EVP of R&D Dr. Ellen Strahlman said in a statement, "The opening of this facility represents an exciting opportunity for BD to accelerate the development of next-generation technologies to help simplify the management of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes."
She added, "This new model will help increase the rate of innovation and enable us to provide therapeutic advances in the diabetes care sector."
The Andover facility will be the new headquarter's for BD's Advanced Diabetes Care; it will serve as a 'center of excellence' by bringing together diabetes R&D and manufacturing. The new facility is 75,000 square feet and houses about 100 employees.
- here is the release