As Vaccinations Begin, Becton Dickinson Eclipses 1 Billion Needle And Syringe Orders

Dec 16, 2020,06:30am EST Bruce Japsen Senior Contributor

U.S device maker Becton, Dickinson and Company has tallied “pandemic orders” for more than 1 billion injection devices from countries around the world with vaccinations against Covid-19 well underway this month.

Becton’s announcement Wednesday is significant given the ability to vaccinate people around the world will command adequate supplies of needles and syringes. Vaccinations against Covid-19 have already begun in the U.S., United Kingdom and certain other countries after vaccines made by Pfizer and BioNTech were granted emergency use authorizations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week and other countries before that. Moderna’s vaccine against Covid-19 is expected to win U.S. clearance later this week.

Becton Dickinson, which is the world’s largest maker of injectable devices, said the 1 billion milestone “reflects commitments from governments across the world, including the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Spain and the United Kingdom, among several others, as well as non-governmental organizations supporting vaccine deployment for developing countries.”

“This milestone is more than just a number – it represents hundreds of millions of people around the world, such as frontline workers and at-risk loved ones who will now be able to receive a vaccination the moment additional vaccines are available,” Becton Dickinson’s president of medication delivery solutions, Rick Byrd, said in a statement accompanying Wednesday’s announcement.

Becton said it has already delivered more than 300 million injection devices and remaining orders will be delivered through the end of 2021 “to support vaccine administration.”

“We recognize our manufacturing and supply chain teams who are working around the clock to make and deliver these essential devices throughout the world,” Byrd said. “From our decades of immunization experience, we also know our work doesn’t stop at delivery. We are equally committed to providing resources to ensure health care communities globally have the right training tools and support on injection techniques to implement these campaigns.”

While there have been some concerns that supplies will become an issue for vaccine makers and device manufacturers that support the mass vaccine effort, Becton Dickinson said it has taken steps to avoid such shortages.

Becton said the company is investing about $1.2 billion over the next four years to expand and upgrade manufacturing capacity and technology for pre-fillable syringes and advanced drug delivery systems to support the massive growth in use of injectable drugs and vaccines. This investment also provides for “surge capacity for increased pre-fillable syringe demand during times of pandemic response.”

As one example, Becton has partnered with the U.S. government on a $70 million project to increase the company’s manufacturing capacity in Nebraska. “The new capacity is expected to be online in summer 2021 and once completed, the federal government will have priority access to hundreds of millions of injection devices to support vaccination efforts for Covid-19 and future pandemics,” the company said.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2020/12/16/as-vaccinations-begin-becton-dickinson-eclipses-1-billion-needle-syringe-orders/?sh=1440904d1745