Becton, Dickinson Unveils Blood Culture Instrument Connectivity - Analyst Blog

Major blood culture solutions provider Becton, Dickinson and Company BDX introduced connectivity solutions of its previously launched BD BACTEC FX40 Blood Culture System. However, the news could not boost investor's confidence as shares fell 1.0% to $118.20 within the last two trading sessions.

Becton, Dickinson will now provide connectivity of the fully automated microbiology growth and detection technology BD BACTEC Blood Culture System with BD EpiCenter Microbiology Data Management System.

The BD BACTEC Blood Culture System detects microbial growth from blood specimens. Becton, Dickinson's BACTEC FX and the BD BACTEC 9000 families of blood culturing instruments monitoring is geared to meet the requirements of leading clinical laboratories.

The communication with the advanced data management will help users gain access to advanced reporting capabilities as well as to the unique BD Blood Volume Monitoring Software, and provide connectivity to the hospital's Laboratory Information System (LIS).

The BD BACTEC Blood Volume Monitoring Software provides automatic measurement and reporting of blood volume averages in BD BACTEC Plus Aerobic/F media bottles for patients.  The technology of automatic tracking of blood volumes provides confidence to the laboratory professionals to supply quality blood culture testing while improving their effectiveness in detecting bacteria, yeast and fungi in blood.

The volume of blood collection is the most vital factor affecting organism recovery in blood cultures. In adult blood culture, recovery increases by roughly 3% for each additional milliliter of blood collected. It is for this reason; 20 to 30 mL of blood collected per venipuncture is considered as the best practice as per CLSI guidelines.

In March this year, Becton, Dickinson received 510(k) clearance and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) waiver from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for nasopharyngeal swab specimens on the BD Veritor System, intended for Rapid Detection of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

BD Veritor System is cleared for use in physician chambers, hospitals, and other patient-care centers. It is the first commercially available CLIA-waived RSV test system that produces a digital result.

BD Veritor System is also the third FDA-cleared and CLIA-waived offering of Becton, Dickinson. Previously, the company's BD Veritor System got both FDA clearance and CLIA waiver for Rapid Detection of Flu A+B and Group A Strep.

Becton, Dickinson posted a 10.1% rise in fiscal 2014-second-quarter adjusted earnings per share to $1.53, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3 cents. Revenues in the quarter upped 3.6% (or 5.1% in constant currency) to $2,072 million.

Becton, Dickinson's revenue growth was driven by strong performance in the Medical segment and continued improvement in the Biosciences segment. Revenues, however, fell shy of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,094 million.

For fiscal 2014, Becton, Dickinson raised its adjusted earnings per share guidance to the range of $6.22 to $6.25 from the prior range of $6.19 to $6.22. The upgraded earnings guidance represented year-over-year growth of 7.0–7.5%.

On a foreign currency-neutral basis, adjusted earnings per share are expected to grow between 10.0 and 10.5%, or 11.0 and 11.5% excluding the incremental impact of the medical device tax. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.25 is the upper-end of the guided range.

Becton, Dickinson continues to expect revenue growth in the range of 4.0 to 5.0% for fiscal 2014. In constant currency, revenue growth is expected between 4.5 and 5.0%.

Currently, Becton, Dickinson carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks worth reckoning in the medical/dental supply industry include Bio-Reference Laboratories Inc. BRLI, Milestone Scientific Inc. (MLSS) and Steris Corp. STE. All these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).