At the company's recent analyst day, management previewed a packed diabetes care pipeline. 

Qmed Staff

At an analyst day on November 17, Becton Dickinson and Co. (BD) management shared its ambition to grow the Franklin Lakes, NJ, company's topline revenue by around 5% from 2017 to 2019. Part of their plan includes launching a steady stream of innovative diabetes products over the next few years.

BD's $1 billion diabetes care division in the past focused primarily on insulin syringes, pen needles, lancets, and disposal products, but it has started to branch out. In June 2015, the company announced a collaboration to pair its FlowSmart technology to smooth out insulin delivery with Medtronic's infusion sets. The MiniMed Pro-Set launched on a limited basis this year but will move into full global commercialization during BD's fiscal second quarter next year, according to analyst reports.

And that's only the beginning of BD's bid to dominate the diabetes space. Management has a three-pronged goal of becoming a leader in insulin injection products, beefing up its drug-delivery options for patients with diabetes, and delivering "transformative solutions" for the space, according to a research not from RBC Capital Markets analyst Glenn Novarro.

To tackle the first part of that goal, BD plans to launch a new pen needle product each year through 2021. Perhaps more exciting, though, is its planned entrance into the emerging category of insulin patch pumps for patients with type 2 diabetes--a potential $1 billion market, according to a research note from Leerink analyst Richard Newitter. Patch pumps require no tubing, as they stick directly to the user's skin, and are said to be easier to use than traditional insulin pumps.

BD hopes to launch its first pump patch in its 2018 fiscal year, according to analyst reports. The device will feature adjustable basal and bolus insulin rates and will be small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, Novarro wrote. It will initially launch in the United States, Western Europe, and Canada. Companies including Unilife Corp., Valeritas Inc., and Insulet Corp. already have patch pumps on the market.

Also in 2018, BD hopes to make a play in interconnected diabetes management. It will connect the aforementioned pump patch to other diabetes technology to capture dose data and launch a smart pen needle that will share dose data wirelessly, Novarro wrote.

BD hopes these innovations will double the market served by its diabetes care division, according to a graphic from its analyst day presentation. Globally, the diabetes device market is forecast to reach $35.5 billion by 2024, according to Grand View Research.

[Image courtesy of Blausen.com staff. "Blausen gallery 2014". Wikiversity Journal of Medicine. DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.010. ISSN 20018762. (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons]