Babson Diagnostics, a healthcare technology company, and BD, a global medical technology company, announced the expansion of a strategic partnership to move blood sample collection into new care settings, including enabling patients to collect blood samples at home for diagnostic testing.
Since 2019, the two companies have collaborated to create a capillary blood collection and testing system, now in advanced development, to enable laboratory-quality, small-volume capillary blood collection at retail settings by team members with no previous experience in blood collection. Plans under the expanded agreement include continuing research and development to enable self-collection, mobile services and at-home collection. Babson and BD also will expand the types of blood tests that are possible through small-volume blood collection beyond primary care-oriented tests, and they also plan to develop diagnostic tests for pediatric use.
“Today’s agreement expands our long-standing partnership with BD and builds on our shared passion of making convenient blood testing accessible to all, not only in the U.S., but also globally,” says David Stein, chief executive officer of Babson Diagnostics. “Extending the medical home is critical in today’s health care environment. We believe that retail convenience is perfect for today’s consumer, but because the Babson service is well-suited to many settings with no need for a phlebotomist and an easier collection experience, we see many opportunities for future expansion.”
Over this long-term collaboration, Babson, and BD are advancing development of the blood testing ecosystem, which includes BD’s next generation capillary collection technology and Babson’s proprietary automated sample-handling and analytical technologies. These have been designed to work together to enable blood testing that requires only one-tenth the sample volume of traditional venipuncture methods without sacrificing quality, accuracy, or the number and types of tests that are possible.
“This is a paradigm-shifting solution that addresses multiple unmet needs within the current health care system,” says Brooke Story, president of Integrated Diagnostics Solutions for BD. “Because it is less invasive and more convenient than the traditional venous blood draw method, capillary blood collection may lead to an improved patient experience, which in turn could help health care providers see better compliance among patients for routine blood testing.”
Featured image: Babson and BD are advancing development of the blood testing ecosystem, which includes BD’s next generation capillary collection technology and Babson’s proprietary automated sample-handling and analytical technologies. Photo: BD
