BD Advances Intelligent Robotics to Transform the Future of Pharmacy Care at Fairview
First-of-its-kind U.S. deployment of BD Vmax 160 expands pharmacy automation beyond traditional dispensing, helping health systems manage growing demand for specialty therapies, refrigerated medications, and increasingly complex fulfilment needs
FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J., Sept. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company, today announced that Fairview Health Services has become the first health system in the United States to deploy the BD Vmax 160, a next generation pharmacy automation robot designed to help health systems manage the increasing complexity of specialty therapies and refrigerated medicines in high-volume, centralized outpatient pharmacy operations.
Fairview operates one of the nation’s largest health system pharmacy networks, filling an average of 20,000 prescriptions per week and providing medication access for patients across Minnesota through a network of 25 outpatient pharmacies and mail-order services. To keep pace with growing demand, the health system is making significant investments in centralized pharmacy operations that expand medication access, increase fulfillment capacity and improve the experience for patients who rely on increasingly complex therapies.
Many of the medications driving pharmacy growth today, including GLP-1s, biologics and other specialty therapies, are packaged, stored and fulfilled differently than traditional vial-based prescriptions. At the same time, retail pharmacy closures, a growing aging population, workforce shortages and the increasing prevalence of pharmacy deserts are creating new health care access challenges for patients.
To address these evolving demands, health systems are adopting centralized pharmacy operations and automation technologies that can support more complex medication fulfillment workflows. Widely used across Europe, BD Vmax introduces high-speed unit-of-use automation to the U.S. market, transforming how boxed medications are stored, tracked and fulfilled in central fill environments. Fairview’s deployment of the BD Vmax 160 builds on its broader collaboration with BD and existing investment in pharmacy automation technologies, including the BD Parata™ Max 2 high speed vial filling robot.
“The future of pharmacy care will be shaped by health systems that can meet patients where they are, while creating more efficient and scalable models for medication access,” said Matt Sassone, President, BD Pharmacy Automation. “Fairview’s investment in centralized pharmacy services and intelligent automation reflects a bold vision for the future, demonstrating how health systems can transform pharmacy operations and expand access to therapies for the communities they serve.”
Purpose-built for centralized fulfillment environments, the BD Vmax 160 is designed to automate labor-intensive workflows. The system helps pharmacies optimize inventory management, reduce manual dispensing activities and improve visibility into medication expiration dates, lot tracking and recall management processes, with features including:
- Automated inventory replenishment, enabling overnight loading and inventory optimization with BD EasyLoad, which delivers a 3-second loading time per tote with 99.8% accuracy
- Automated labeling, eliminating time-consuming manual tasks while meeting labeling requirements for all 50 states
- Cold-chain capability, designed for 2–8°C environments to support proper medication storage and enhance medication safety
- Smart expiry detection that flags and tracks expiration dates upon loading and automatically blocks expired medications from dispensing, helping to reduce waste and support compliance
As one of the largest providers of pharmacy automation and robotics solutions in healthcare, BD is advancing a vision for a more connected, intelligent end-to-end pharmacy. BD Vmax serves as an important step toward that future, complementing the company’s broader portfolio of pharmacy automation technologies and the BD Incada™ Connected Care Platform. Together, these solutions help health systems automate and orchestrate pharmacy services from central pharmacy through dispensing and fulfillment, reducing manual touchpoints and moving toward more autonomous medication management. By connecting workflows across the medication-use process, BD is helping ensure patients receive the care they need across every stage of their care journey.
About BD
BD is one of the world’s largest pure-play medical technology companies with a Purpose of advancing the world of health™ by driving innovation across medical essentials, connected care, biopharma systems and interventional. The company supports those on the frontlines of healthcare by developing transformative technologies, services and solutions that optimize clinical operations and improve care for patients. Operating across the globe, with more than 60,000 employees, BD delivers billions of products annually that have a positive impact on global healthcare. By working in close collaboration with customers, BD can help enhance outcomes, lower costs, increase clinical efficiency, improve safety and expand access to healthcare. For more information on BD, please visit bd.com or connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/bd1/, X @BDandCo or Instagram @becton_dickinson.
SOURCE BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company)
