BD announced plans to invest approximately $1.2 billion over a four-year period to expand and upgrade manufacturing capacity and technology for pre-fillable syringes (PFS) and advanced drug delivery systems (ADDS) across its six global manufacturing locations and add a new manufacturing facility in Europe.

The new manufacturing facility in Europe is expected to be operational by the end of 2023. The investment will also fund capacity expansion, new product innovations, manufacturing technology enhancements and business continuity improvements across its existing network, all designed to maximize supply and reduce risks for pharmaceutical companies that rely on ready-to-fill syringes for their injectable drugs — including complex biologics, vaccines and small molecules.

“BD invented the ready-to-fill pre-fillable syringe technology, and today’s announcement demonstrates our continued commitment to better serve our customers,” said Eric Borin, worldwide president of BD Pharmaceutical Systems. “Since 2018, BD has added 350 million units of manufacturing capacity for glass barrel pre-fillable syringes, and this new commitment will invest in additional upgrades at all of our Pharmaceutical Systems manufacturing facilities and across multiple product categories. In addition, this investment positions BD to have the needed surge capacity for increased pre-fillable syringe demand during times of pandemic response or periods of significant growth of new injectable drugs and vaccines. This significant investment in one of BD’s fastest growing business units will further advance our leadership position and enable continued strong growth in the years ahead.”

The six current manufacturing facilities for BD Pharmaceutical Systems that will see a portion of this investment include facilities in Columbus, Nebraska; Cuautitlán, Mexico; Fukushima, Japan; Le Pont-de-Claix, France; Swindon, United Kingdom; and Tatabánya, Hungary.