Becton Dickinson's BD Medical Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance, Commercial Launch of BD UltraSafe PLUS Needle Guard

BD Medical, a segment ofBD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medicaltechnology company, announced today the commercial launch of a new passiveneedle guard technology, BD UltraSafe PLUS™. The BD UltraSafe PLUS™ PassiveNeedle Guard has received 510(k) clearance as an anti-needlestick safetydevice.This product, in addition to offering needlestick safety in an easy-to-useone-handed device, is enhanced with ergonomic features designed to facilitatecomfort and support for healthcare providers and patients. In addition, thissafety device is designed to meet increasingly complex biotechnology drugrequirements, including higher viscosity."We are pleased to offer the new BD UltraSafe PLUS™ Passive Needle Guard whichnicely complements our current safety portfolio," said Claude Dartiguelongue,President, BD Medical - Pharmaceutical Systems.  "We now have an ergonomicsafety device solution for those customers seeking to offer patients theability to manually control their injection."The BD UltraSafe PLUS™ Passive Needle Guard provides many advanced featuresincluding a robust plunger rod to help support injection of viscous drugs, alarger drug inspection window to improve drug visibility, extended built-infinger flanges and an enhanced plunger head for improved injection support andstability. These ergonomic improvements provide support for all users,including patients with diminished manual dexterity.  BD recently conducted aclinical focus group with patients who had reduced dexterity and also sufferedfrom rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Subjects reported that theBD UltraSafe PLUS™ Passive Needle Guard provided ease of use with 100% ofinjections executed successfully.