The new lines allow the company to strengthen the US government's access to safe injection devices via increased manufacturing capacity and domestic supply

Needle

BD has installed new syringe and needle manufacturing lines at its Nebraska facility. (Credit: Arek Socha from Pixabay)

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) has installed new syringe and needle manufacturing lines at its Holdrege facility in Nebraska, US.

The new lines were built under a public-private partnership between BD and the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR).

The lines enable the company to strengthen the US government’s access to safe injection devices via increased manufacturing capacity and domestic supply.

In July last year, ASPR’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) invested around $42m into a $70m capital project to further expand the firm’s operations and manufacturing lines in the Holdrege facility.

BD medication delivery solutions president Rick Byrd said: “As the fight against Covid-19 continues, we are steadfast in our commitment to securing the nation’s supply continuity of these critical injection devices.

“Our teams are working tirelessly – as they have been since the beginning of the pandemic – to ensure that all of our customers, including the US government, have the supplies they need to vaccinate against this virus while simultaneously managing routine, preventative health care needs, such as the seasonal flu.”

BD, which has already supplied several hundred million injection devices to the federal campaign, now increases its existing needle and syringe supply capabilities domestically through new lines.

The company has three other manufacturing facilities in Nebraska: Broken Bow and two facilities in Columbus.

Earlier, the company also announced plans to invest $1.2bn over four years to expand its manufacturing capacity and technology for pre-fillable syringes and advanced drug delivery systems.

In August this year, the firm secured an emergency use authorisation (EUA) form the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its BD Veritor at-home Covid-19 test.