Becton Dickinson is preparing to scale up its manufacturing operations of COVID-19 testing kits for a second wave of infections in the fall, according to Reuters.
Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based BD in April received FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) and CE mark approval for its COVID-19 test that returns results in 2-3 hours. The test is compatible with the company’s BD Max system, which has been in use at thousands of laboratories across the world.
“We’re preparing additional capacity to ensure we can address both demand for a flu test and an antigen COVID-19 assay,” CEO Thomas Polen said.
The company said it is also developing a fourth point-of-care test kit that could diagnose COVID-19 in less than 15 minutes, according to Reuters. BD is waiting for the results of its study to apply for FDA EUA.
The coronavirus has affected more than 3.7 million people globally, with the U.S. experiencing the most COVID-19 cases at just over 1.2 million so far, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems and Science Engineering. Nearly 260,000 people have died around the world since the pandemic started, including more than 70,000 in the U.S.
BD earlier today reported Street-beating second-quarter results. It posted profits of $183 million for the second quarter and said that its life sciences segment has seen significant growth as a result of demand for COVID-19 testing and a stronger flu season.
Shares in BDX were down -1% to $256.54 this afternoon. MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — was up 1.9%
