Becton Dickinson, with Heavyweight Helpers, Finally Jumps into Diabetes Testing

Executive Summary

Becton Dickinson & Co.'s announcement in January that it is entering the diabetes testing business laid to rest questions about its commitment to a field it has tinkered with for years. The move, however, raised new speculation about the company's ability to make inroads in a market it is entering late and which is dominated by Roche and Johnson & Johnson, who are willing to protect their lucrative shares of the monitoring business with heavy product development and marketing spending.