CAP TODAY Pathology/Laboratory Medicine/Laboratory Management
Feb. 14, 2020—Becton Dickinson and Babson Diagnostics, a diagnostic blood testing company, announced a long-term strategic partnership agreement to bring laboratory-quality, small-volume blood collection to retail pharmacies. BD’s capillary specimen collection devices, in development, are designed to enable the collection of specimens without the need to access a vein and are for use in health care settings without a trained phlebotomist, such as retail pharmacies, physician offices, urgent care centers, and skilled nursing facilities. Babson’s offerings include proprietary automated sample handling and analytical technologies, which are also in development.
“Patient expectations for health care are evolving, and patients are demanding care in more convenient settings. With our specimen management innovations, we hope to revolutionize diagnostic testing to meet patient expectations with laboratory-quality tests that can be performed with small blood samples that do not require venipuncture,” Patrick Kaltenbach, executive vice president and president, life sciences, at BD, said in a company press release. “Babson Diagnostics will help bring BD’s advanced capillary blood collection products to emerging health care settings, making laboratory-quality diagnostics more accessible to patients in the U.S. and around the world.”