Becton, Dickinson boosts syringe production amid FDA concerns on supplies

BD (NYSE:BDX) announced Thursday that the company has increased its domestic manufacturing of syringes after the FDA warned about quality issues linked to plastic syringes made in China.

Since the FDA's first communication over the issue in November, the company has increased the U.S. production of syringes in its Nebraska and Connecticut plants, BD (BDX) said.

The announcement came after the FDA flagged violations related to the sale and distribution of unauthorized plastic syringes manufactured in China as part of an ongoing investigation into quality concerns.

As part of the probe, the agency has sent warning letters to Jiangsu Shenli Medical Production Co. Ltd., a China-based manufacturer of plastic syringes, and two other distributors of Chinese-made syringes, Medline Industries LP and Sol-Millennium Medical Inc.

The company said the FDA's safety communication didn't include any BD syringes and added that it has capacity to fulfill additional customer demand.

Citing an FDA database, CNBC reported Wednesday that Jiangsu Shenli Medical Production and Sol-Millennium Medical manufacture plastic syringes for healthcare distributor McKesson (MCK).

Over the past months, its rival, Cardinal Health (CAH), and German dialysis provider Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) have also reported Class I product recalls—classified as most serious by the FDA—for their syringes.