FDA OKs Becton Dickinson cervical cancer screening system

Franklin Lakes, NJ

Medical device maker Becton Dickinson and Co. said Thursday it received Food and Drug Administration clearance to sell a new cervical cancer screening system.

The system, BD FocalPoint GS, uses the company's SurePath pap test slides. Its guided screening technology helps quickly relocate areas the system identifies as most likely to contain suspect cells.

Despite improvements in cervical cancer screening over the past 40 years, the company said, 4,000 women die from the disease each year in the United States, and costs to treat the disease exceed $2 billion annually.

Shares of Becton Dickinson fell $1.26 to $63.68 in afternoon trading.

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