BD announced Wednesday that it will be making $70 million in upgrades to its Nebraska manufacturing facilities to develop new manufacturing lines to ensure a steady supply of syringes and needles during the coronavirus pandemic.
The New Jersey-based company said it has formed a strategic public-private partnership with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which is part of the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.
As part of the alliance, BARDA will contribute $42 million of the $70 million cost of the improvements, which are expected to take a year to complete.
Once the new lines are up and running, they will produce hundreds of millions of syringes and needles annually to support current and future pandemic vaccination efforts, and BARDA will have priority access to the products.
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BD did not say whether it will invest in all of its Nebraska facilities or just some of them. The company has four manufacturing plants in the state — two in Columbus and one each in Holdrege and Broken Bow — that employ more than 2,500 people combined. It also did not say if the expansion would add jobs.
Gov. Pete Ricketts lauded the company's plans.
“Right now, the entire world is focused on developing a vaccine, so we can win the war against coronavirus. From the beginning when Americans abroad came to Omaha and Ashland to quarantine, Nebraska has played an important role during the pandemic," he said in a statement. "Thank you to BD for choosing Nebraska for this investment, which will play a pivotal role in quickly delivering vaccines to the marketplace.â€
BD also said Wednesday it finalized an initial pandemic order for 50 million needles and syringes to be delivered by the end of December to support the U.S. vaccination effort for COVID-19. The order will be fulfilled through BD's current manufacturing capacity.
"BD's commitment to produce 50 million vaccine injection devices by the end of this year to support the U.S. COVID-19 vaccination campaign is the latest effort in the company's multifaceted global response to this virus, and the new, strategic public-private partnership will help ensure the U.S. is prepared for future pandemic vaccination efforts," said Rick Byrd, president of Medication Delivery Solutions for BD.
"Over the past four years, BD has committed to invest more than $340 million in our Nebraska facilities. We are extremely proud of our talented and dedicated workforce in Nebraska and our longstanding partnership with the state, and we look forward to building on our strong presence and track record in Nebraska as we move forward."
Sen. Ben Sasse called the partnership "good news, because it will help us beat this nasty virus once we have a vaccine while making a big investment in Nebraska’s workers."
"This effort will take a heavy lift, and I’m grateful our state is going to play a big role,†he said.