The announcement that Franklin Lakes, NJ-based Becton Dickinson is going to spin off its diagnostics (and life sci) unit and concentrate on medical technology made news this week. While we didn’t prognosticate it, it’s not surprising. Becton Dickinson (BD) is into a lot. It’s huge in specimen handling, both in volume and innovation. It’s a leader in microbiology, which let’s face it, could be a whole company in and of itself, given the needs there. It offers advanced patient management systems, and flow cytometry. And that’s only part of it.
Now, It’s chosen to form a “New BD” that will focus on the medical technology portions.
The separation, as near as we can tell it, is a play for upside. To take some core-but growing areas (specimen, patient monitoring) and create a “New BD” company that has $17 BN in revenue but can attack $70BN in potential market. How will it do that? Buying companies. And spending on R&D. How does it do that, then? Speculation seems to be that it will sell the spin off its Diagnostics and Life Science units, and use that cash to boost the New BD medtech innovation company.
If that’s even true, who would it sell it too? Speculation. EYE doesn’t have that kind of information. I’d say think about the top ten IVD that also has life science units, that would comfortably accommodate both companies.
Should IVD feel a little jealous that it’s being eschewed here? Nah. Come on, don’t be that way. Medtech is a hot sector, everyone knows it. Plus that reliable IVD revenue is, we think, paving the way.
Now should IVD be a little shocked here. After all, BD is eschewing it in favor of medtech? No, no – you can’t think that way. Medtech is really a hot space. Healthcare costs are going up, they aren’t coming down anytime soon, population is aging, it is going to be a well-funded sector as better outcomes need to be achieved faster and possibly with less staff. Less is got to be more, and while testing will contribute, medtech is going to be very promising. We cover IVD, it does not mean IVD is the be all and end all.
But I take note that IVD is the part of BD that was the “reliable income” that delivers that is necessary in order to put a spin-off in a competitive position or to sell it. 80% of its revenues in the sell-off portion of the company are renewable, per BD.
BD has a competitive diagnostics business in microbiology (where the company is a leader) and flow cytometry, as well as HPV testing and other assays. The company says the resulting unit that includes dx will be $3.4BN in revenue.
The company said: “Following the separation, New BD will be a pure-play medical technology company with leading positions in large and growing end-markets. With this profile, New BD expects to drive concentrated investments in high-impact R&D and disciplined capital allocation including growth accretive M&A, which positions the company to deliver differentiated and durable growth rates in MedTech.”
If a sale to a major IVD takes place, and that’s an “if” at this point, it will increase the trend of consolidation in in vitro diagnostics with the loss of one competitor in the Top Ten. If it doesn’t, we are at status quo, perhaps even a thinner spinoff would be more dynamic.
Press release here: https://news.bd.com/2025-02-05-BD-Announces-Intent-to-Separate-Biosciences-and-Diagnostic-Solutions-Business-to-Enhance-Focus,-Drive-Growth-and-Unlock-Value
Somebody tell Oschner Health, You may have some folks at the game who need mobile service, at least according to this Siemens Healthineers survey.
SIEMENS AND FOOTBALL – I just find this stat amazing. 28% of people would stay at a sporting event, even if they felt they were having heart attack symptoms. What?
Somebody tell Oschner (New Orleans hospital which is handling the Super Bowl) to get ready:
Well, of course that still means 72% wouldn’t stay, which is reassuring.
And maybe a few figure that a symptom might turn out to be nothing? That could be, but Siemens found that 19% would still stay even if they were people who had had a heart attack in the past.
The survey is a way of promoting a high sensitivity troponin test that has been cleared to provide the chance of a heart attack in a patient, and is part of a marketing strategy for that test that we find interesting, and expect will get some good coverage ahead of the game.
Eagles or Chiefs? This newsletter makes no prediction (we are forecasters in the IVD market only).
Siemens’s survey info is here. https://www.siemens-healthineers.com/en-us/heart-attack-survey-2024
HERE’s ANOTHER STAT: In emergency situations, a timely blood transfusion can be the difference between life and death. But at the same time, the transfusion can increase chance of mortality by 78 %.
So using faster in vitro diagnostics to know real-time blood clotting characteristics before, during, and after surgery can increase those odds. Which means, a POC test.
Viscoelastic testing (VET) allows doctors to quickly evaluate how a patient’s blood is clotting in real time. At the bedside or in the operating room, a clinician draws a small sample of the patient’s whole blood and places it into a specialized instrument. This device gently rotates or applies oscillating forces to the blood, measuring how it changes from a liquid to a gel-like clot and then eventually breaks down. The instrument records these changes, generating a graphical representation of clot formation, strength, and dissolution.
As the test progresses, the doctor watches for key indicators that reveal whether the patient’s blood is clotting too slowly, too quickly, or breaking down prematurely. This information is crucial in settings like cardiac surgery, liver transplants, and critical care, where traditional lab tests may take too long to provide actionable results.
Barcelona, Spain-based Werfen says: “When paired with point-of-care viscoelastic testing solutions such as its system, ROTEM sigma, patient blood management programs help conserve blood for emergency situations, such as the ongoing nationwide shortage.”
The company’s ROTEM sigma (https://www.werfen.com/na/en/coagulation-testing-rotem-sigma) is a viscoelastic coagulation analyzer used for point-of-care (POC) and laboratory testing of blood coagulation. It provides rapid, real-time insights into clot formation, stability, and lysis, which is crucial for managing bleeding in surgery, trauma, and critical care settings. The company notes its system provides test results within 10–15 min.
There are other systems – one such is Haemonetics TEG 6s – it also provides viscoelastic coagulation testing at the POC or in the lab. Like ROTEM Sigma, it uses cartridge-based technology to assess clot formation and fibrinolysis in real-time. (https://hospital.haemonetics.com/hemostasis-management/teg-6s)
“Time is life in severe bleeding! notes a journal article in the Korean Journal of Anesthesiology
(“The role of evidence-based algorithms for rotational thromboelastometry-guided bleeding management”) doi: 10.4097/kja.19169 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31096732/)
says that article: ” ROTEM-guided PBM has been shown to be effective in reducing bleeding, transfusion requirements, complication rates, and health care costs. Accordingly, several randomized-controlled trials, meta-analyses, and health technology assessments provided evidence that using ROTEM-guided algorithms in bleeding patients resulted in improved patient’s safety and outcomes including perioperative morbidity and mortality. However, the implementation of ROTEM in the PBM concept requires adequate technical and interpretation training, education and logistics, as well as interdisciplinary communication and collaboration.”
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