FRANKLIN LAKES, NJ—Becton, Dickinson and Co. plans to invest approximately $1.2 billion over a four-year period to expand and upgrade manufacturing capacity and technology for pre-fillable syringes and advanced drug delivery systems 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.

“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,” says Eric Borin, worldwide president of BD Pharmaceutical Systems. “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.”

BD will distribute the investment assembly plants in Columbus, Nebraska; Cuautitlán, Mexico; Fukushima, Japan; Le Pont-de-Claix, France; Swindon, United Kingdom; and Tatabánya, Hungary.