U.S. government agrees to buy Becton's COVID-19 testing device

- Becton, Dickinson and Co said on Wednesday the U.S. government had agreed to buy its COVID-19 testing device and kits.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has agreed to buy its 2,000 BD Veritor Plus Systems and 750,000 SARS-CoV-2 antigen test kits, the company said.

According to U.S. health experts, broad testing in the country for the virus needs to be ramped up as the White House considers when and how to lift stay-at-home restrictions and lockdowns triggered by the pandemic. (https://reut.rs/32jLtXL)

Becton said distribution for the device and kits is set to begin from next week.

The testing kit received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier in July and is the medical device maker's latest rapid point-of-care testing device.

The device is already in use in more than 25,000 hospitals, clinician offices, urgent care centers and retail pharmacies in all 50 U.S. states, the company said.

The company said in the previous week that the U.S. government would invest $42 million to expand its manufacturing capacity for syringes and needles to support vaccination efforts against COVID-19. (Reporting by Trisha Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)