Becton Dickinson India Pvt. Ltd (BD India), the wholly owned subsidiary of US based medical technology major BD is planning to make India as a global sourcing base for medical devices. The company is in the process of augmenting its manufacturing capabilities by setting up additional production lines for catheters and insulin syringes. The facility is to be ready in six months, it is learnt.

According to Ram Sharma, MD, BD India, the company is to see Indian facility as sourcing base for the entire region. "The turnover of the company has tripled in last five years to touch US$ 60 million during the current year. We expect it to be US$ 100 million by 2008-09," he said.

BD India is a pioneer in auto-disable syringes. It has a strategic tie-up with Hindustan Latex Limited to market its auto-disable syringes throughout the country. With the central government deciding to make auto-disable syringes compulsory for all child immunization programmes, BD is to find its business prosper in the coming months.

BD India manufactures and sells medical devices, instrument systems and reagents that serve healthcare institutions, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, industry and general public. It is focused on improving drug therapy, enhancing the quality and speed of diagnosing infectious diseases and advancing research and discovery of new drugs and vaccines.

Its syringe manufacturing facility at Bawal near Rewari in Haryana, set up with an initial outlay of Rs 110 crores, is amongst the largest syringe and medical devices manufacturing plants in Asia. It produces disposable needles, syringes and catheters that are recognized around the world.