OXFORD, England, March 26 /PRNewswire/ --

- Safety-Engineered Catheter Specially Designed to Help Minimize Risk of Transmitting Bloodborne Pathogens

BD Medical, a segment of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), today announced that the BD Venflon(TM) Pro Safety IV Catheter earned a "red dot: best of the best" product design award in the prestigious international competition, that included more than 3,203 submissions from 51 countries, sponsored by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen, Germany.

The red dot design award honors outstanding design quality and trendsetters from a variety of industries and product areas. An international jury selects the award-winners for highest design quality following a detailed assessment of criteria such as degree of innovation, functionality, ergonomics, longevity, ecological compatibility and clarity of function.

The BD Venflon Pro Safety IV Catheter is designed to help protect healthcare workers from needlestick injuries and exposure to bloodborne pathogens. It also includes a unique feature that helps guard against blood splatters that can occur during the IV cannulation process.

"This unique combination of features in the BD Venflon Pro Safety Catheter is an example of BD's commitment to further improve healthcare worker safety through the development of innovative, safety-engineered devices," said John Ledek, Vice President, BD Medical - Medical Surgical Systems."

Occupational exposure to potentially fatal bloodborne pathogens is a major concern for healthcare workers around the world. An estimated 1 million accidental needlesticks occur every year in healthcare institutions across Europe, potentially leading to exposure to diseases such as HIV and hepatitis (www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/epinet/). Blood splatter is an additional, yet often unrecognized, source of blood exposure.

The BD Venflon Pro Safety Catheter represents the next generation of safety catheters and is the latest addition to BD's wide range of safety-engineered products. BD pioneered the development of safety-engineered medical devices and has been at the forefront of this field for nearly two decades. BD's range of safety products includes hundreds of catalog items for injection, infusion therapy, sample collection, surgery and sharps disposal.

About BD

BD, a leading global medical technology company that manufactures and sells medical devices, instrument systems and reagents, is dedicated to improving people's health throughout the world. BD 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. The Company's capabilities are instrumental in combating many of the world's most pressing diseases. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, BD employs approximately 28,000 people in approximately 50 countries throughout the world. The Company serves healthcare institutions, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, industry and the general public. For more information, please visit http://www.bd.com.

Contact: Barbara Kalavik BD Public Relations Phone: +1-201-847-4209 Email: Barbara_Kalavik@bd.com Contact: Ashley Lewis Manning, Selvage & Lee Phone: +44-20-7878-3233 Email: Ashley.Lewis@mslpr.co.uk

Contact: Barbara Kalavik, BD Public Relations, Phone: +1-201-847-4209, Email: Barbara_Kalavik@bd.com; Contact: Ashley Lewis, Manning, Selvage & Lee, Phone: +44-20-7878-3233, Email: Ashley.Lewis@mslpr.co.uk