The president of BD’s life sciences division, Dave Hickey, is officially planning his retirement, with the calendar marked for July 1.
Hickey has overseen BD’s portfolio of scientific research tools and testing platforms since January 2021. Prior to that, he helped lead the company’s diagnostics and microbiology divisions, after joining BD in 2014 from Siemens Healthineers, where he was in charge of its laboratory business.
“I want to express BD’s sincere gratitude to Dave for his significant contributions to BD, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, where he led the BD effort to develop numerous rapid and molecular diagnostic tests in record time to support health care providers and patients around the world. We wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement,” President and CEO Tom Polen said in a statement.
The company said it plans to name a successor before Hickey’s departure.
BD developed multiple coronavirus tests during the pandemic, but its mainstays were assays for the tabletop BD MAX molecular diagnostic system and the handheld Veritor for point-of-care screening. The company also put forward a blood test in Europe to determine whether a hospitalized patient was likely to need a ventilator, as well as a smartphone-powered home test.
More recently, as the public’s demand for COVID tests has dried up, BD combined its coronavirus test with screeners for the flu and respiratory syncytial virus, for a one-stop “tripledemic” diagnostic.
The blood collection hardware giant has also helped lead the charge in developing devices to enable taking samples in pharmacies and grocery stores, through a long-running partnership with Babson Diagnostics. The FDA-cleared BD MiniDraw was unveiled late last year, aimed at obtaining high-quality test results from a fingerstick.
“Throughout my career, I’ve been most driven by the people I have had the privilege to lead, and the important work we’ve done to help patients around the world,” said Hickey. “In my 10 years at BD, I’ve worked alongside some of the most incredible and talented teams in MedTech who have delivered countless research and diagnostic innovations, and who are having a profound impact on people around the world. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together and am confident in the continued success of BD now and in the future.”