BD surpasses greenhouse gas reduction milestones for FY 2023
BD announced it has surpassed its Scope 1 and 2 science-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets for FY 2023 by 5 percentage points and received approval for near and long-term science-based emissions reduction targets from the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi)[1]. This furthers the company’s progress toward its goal to reach net zero GHG emissions across its value chain by FY 2050.
Gaining approval of near- and long-term targets and net-zero target from SBTi supports BD’s sustainability journey by ensuring that its climate actions are science-based, transparent and aligned with global efforts to combat climate change. In FY 2023, the company reported an 18 percent reduction of Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions (from a FY 2019 baseline), surpassing its target of 13 percent for the year. Additionally, BD doubled the number of sites that are now using Green Electric Power and on-site renewables (solar power) since FY 2019.
To further underscore the company’s commitment to achieving emissions reduction across all scopes, BD signed the White House HHS Health Sector Climate Pledge and committed to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 GHG reduction target by 50 percent by 2030 (from a 2019 baseline, absolute).
BD’s emissions reduction goals, as well as other achievements across the company’s 2030+ corporate sustainability goals, are reported in the Fiscal Year 2023 Together We Advance Corporate Sustainability Report.
Sysmex America announces Dan Zortman as new CEO
Sysmex America, Inc. announced that longtime healthcare executive Dan Zortman has been named the company’s new CEO. Andy Hay, who has served as CEO since 2021, will continue to serve as Chairman and President of Sysmex America with a focus on the company’s emerging hinotori Surgical Robotic System business. Dan is a diagnostics industry executive with more than 33 years of experience. He has worked at Roche for the last 24 years, most recently as senior vice president of commercial operations, successfully leading the company to achieve its number one position in the U.S. market.
Dan has also held several global sales and marketing leadership positions and served as national director of sales and marketing for Roche Canada and as a regional business manager in the northeast territory. Before joining Roche, he worked in sales at Pharmacia Dx, Sanofi (now part of Beckman), Bio-Rad and Chiron (now part of Siemens).
Cepheid receives FDA Authorization with CLIA Waiver for Xpert® HCV
Cepheid announced that it has received FDA De Novo marketing authorization and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) Waiver approval for Xpert® HCV, the only molecular test in the U.S. to detect hepatitis C virus RNA directly from a human capillary whole blood (fingerstick) sample. The Xpert HCV test is performed on the GeneXpert Xpress System.
In the United States, 2.4 million people are estimated to be living with hepatitis C and more than half of the people with HCV do not know that they have the virus. An HCV RNA test at the point of care can simplify testing algorithms, increase diagnosis rates, and support timely linkage to care and treatment.
The Viral Hepatitis National Strategic Plan for the United States calls for greater than 80% of people with hepatitis C to achieve viral clearance by 2030. Currently, the clinical care pathway for detection of hepatitis C faces many barriers, including complicated multi-step diagnostic algorithms based on antibody screening and RNA confirmation. These algorithms require centralized testing technologies that may result in treatment delays and loss-to-follow up and could discourage at-risk populations from accessing testing and receiving care. Xpert® HCV can accurately detect active HCV infection from individuals at risk and/or with signs and symptoms of HCV infection with or without antibodies to HCV from a capillary blood sample.