BD to shutter Minnesota Lutonix plant, layoffs ahead for 53

Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) is planning to close a Minnesota plant that makes its Lutonix drug-coated balloon next year, as the company looks to consolidate its peripheral intervention business.

The decision means layoffs for 53 of the New Hope, Minn., site’s 85 workers; the remaining 32 employees will either move to roles at BD’s Tempe, Ariz., location or work remotely, Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based BD said in a prepared statement. The closure is slated to into effect effective March 31, 2020.

“We are providing as much advance notice as possible to allow affected associates the opportunity to pursue other opportunities within BD or successfully transition to new employment,” the company said.

The move, spurred in part by the peripheral business consolidation, was reinforced by FDA action on paclitaxel-eluting devices like the Lutonix balloon and lower procedure volumes for drug-coated balloons, the company said.

Use of the devices plunged after a meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American Heart Assn. last December suggested that PAD patients treated with paclitaxel-coated balloons and stents could be at a higher risk for late death. An FDA panel convened to consider the evidence in June. In August the FDA said it wants more long-term safety and effectiveness studies on paclitaxel-eluting stents and balloons, and urged physicians to carefully consider when to use them.

“Drug-coated technology will continue to be an essential part of our product portfolio and company strategy moving forward. We take any decision that affects associates very seriously, and believe these actions are necessary to create a stronger business to support our customers and their patients,” BD said in the statement.

C.R. Bard announced its plans to acquire Lutonix for $325 million back in December 2011; Bard was later acquired by Becton Dickinson for $24 billion.