What UltiMed does

UltiMed, Inc. is a privately held US medical device manufacturer founded in 1988 and headquartered in Excelsior, Minnesota, with manufacturing operations in De Smet, South Dakota and coordinated production through Asian vendors. The company designs, manufactures, and distributes injection and medication delivery devices, organized under four primary brands: UltiCare (premium pen needles and insulin syringes for human diabetes care), UltiGuard Safe Pack (the only patented all-in-one combination of injection devices with an FDA-cleared sharps container), UltiCare VetRx (insulin syringes and pen needles for veterinary diabetes care), and iPet Pro (blood glucose monitoring systems for diabetic dogs and cats). Core technology centers on micro-bonded silicone-lubricated needles, individually laser-inspected and micro-polished tips, dual-scale barrel markings for precise dosing, permanently attached safety shields with locking mechanisms compliant with OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Engineering Controls, low dead space syringe geometry to reduce medication waste, and an iPet PRO sensing platform achieving ±15 mg/dL accuracy 98% of the time against laboratory standards, exceeding ISO 15197:2013.

The company operates across three vertical segments: Consumer Health (diabetic patients and pharmacies), Animal Health (veterinarians and pet owners), and Safety and Specialty (clinicians and healthcare facilities). Revenue is generated through hardware sales of consumables and devices, distributed primarily via the dominant US healthcare wholesalers (AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal, McKesson, Henry Schein, Medline), veterinary distributors (Patterson, Covetrus, MWI, AHI), and direct-to-consumer online retail. The installed base exceeds 500 million pen needles and syringes produced annually and over 900 million units safely disposed through UltiGuard Safe Pack since 2010. The company holds ISO 13485:2016 certification and GMP compliance for its manufacturing operations, with all 50-state sharps disposal compliance for UltiGuard.

The operating model is a hybrid US-owned-and-operated manufacturing footprint supplemented by South Korean and other Asian production partners, allowing UltiMed to balance landed-cost discipline in commoditized consumables with US-based flexibility for higher-margin safety and specialty lines. Strategic direction is led by President and CEO Jim Erickson (since 2003), CFO Dennis Wagner (since 2014), VP of Sales and Marketing Sarah Hanssen (since 2018), and VP of Operations Pete Vaillant (since 2018). No private equity, venture capital, or strategic acquirer involvement is evidenced in the available sources, and the company has not pursued any disclosed M&A, IPO, or external funding events.

Name

UltiMed

Legal name

UltiMed, Inc.

Website

https://ultimedinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UltiMed is a US private manufacturer of pen needles, insulin syringes, safety syringes, and pet blood glucose monitoring systems serving human diabetes, animal health, and clinical safety markets through wholesale and direct channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Devices (Diabetes Care & Injection Delivery)

NAICS

Surgical and Medical Instrument Manufacturing (339112), Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing (3391)

SIC

Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841), Wholesale-Medical, Dental & Hospital Equipment & Supplies (5047)

akta.pro primary industry

Insulin Pen Needles, Syringes & Infusion Sets (Consumables) (HLAHAHAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Prefilled Syringes & Safety Syringes (HLAHAIAA), Practice Consumables & General Medical Supplies (Needles, Syringes, Gloves, Swabs) (HLAMAFAO), Lancing Devices & Lancets (HLAHAHAH)

Keywords

• Diabetes care products
• Medical injection devices
• Insulin delivery devices
• Sharps disposal solutions
• Pet diabetes supplies

Headquarters

HQ city

Excelsior

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Injection Devices Sales: Sale of pen needles, insulin syringes, safety syringes, and pen injector accessories through wholesale distribution and direct-to-consumer online retail
2. Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems: Sale of pet blood glucose meters, test strips, and lancets for animal health market
3. UltiGuard Safe Pack Products: All-in-one sharps container and injection device combination products with integrated disposal solution

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

UltiMed manufactures and sells medical injection devices and related products, including pen needles, insulin syringes, safety syringes, alcohol swabs, oral syringes, and pet blood glucose monitoring systems. Its flagship UltiGuard Safe Pack is the only all-in-one product that combines premium pen needles or insulin syringes with an integrated FDA-cleared sharps container for safe disposal. The company serves three distinct markets: human diabetes care, animal health (pet diabetes care), and safety and specialty applications for healthcare facilities.

Product overview

UltiMed is a manufacturer of medical injection devices serving three distinct markets: human diabetes care, pet diabetes care (animal health), and safety/specialty applications. The product portfolio is organized under four main brands: UltiCare (premium pen needles and syringes for human use), UltiGuard Safe Pack (all-in-one dispensing and disposal solution combining injection devices with sharps containers), UltiCare VetRx (veterinary insulin delivery products), and iPet Pro (pet blood glucose monitoring systems). UltiMed produces over half a billion pen needles and syringes annually in ISO 13485:2016 certified facilities. The company offers pen needles compatible with major pen injector devices from Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi-Aventis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• UltiCare: Premium quality pen needles and insulin syringes precision engineered with advanced technology for comfortable injections. Produces over half a billion pen needles and syringes annually.
• UltiGuard Safe Pack
• UltiCare VetRx
• iPet Pro

Products and services

• UltiGuard Safe Pack (Pen Needles) The only all-in-one product combining 100 premium pen needles with an FDA-cleared sharps container for safe dispensing and disposal. Designed for diabetic patients managing insulin pens at home.
• UltiCare Pen Needles

Quantifiable outcome

• 900+ million pen needles and syringes safely disposed since 2010 through UltiGuard Safe Pack
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Fear FreecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership focused on providing pet owners a safe way to dispense insulin syringes and dispose injection devices safely through UltiGuard Safe Pack U-40 and U-100 Syringes. Founded in 2016, Fear Free provides online and in-person education to veterinary professionals, pet professionals, and pet owners.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Heska (Mars Petcare / Antech): Veterinary diagnostics and specialty products company (acquired by Mars Petcare/Antech in 2023) — competes directly with UltiMed's iPet PRO pet blood glucose monitoring system in the veterinary channel and with UltiCare VetRx supply relationships.
• Ypsomed: Swiss-listed specialist in injection systems and pen needles (mylife brand), serving diabetes self-care and pharma delivery markets globally. Ypsomed is a focused independent competitor with a comparable business model of proprietary consumables plus injection platforms, similar in positioning to UltiMed.
• ARKRAY: Japanese manufacturer of diabetes diagnostics and consumables, including blood glucose meters, test strips, lancets, and pen needles. ARKRAY competes most directly with UltiMed's iPet PRO on pet/human BGM accuracy claims and with UltiCare on pen needles.
• Embecta: Spun off from BD in 2022 as a pure-play diabetes injection devices company. Embecta is the closest direct competitor — it manufactures pen needles, insulin syringes, and safety syringes sold through the same U.S. pharmacy and wholesaler channels, making it the most head-to-head comparable for UltiMed's consumer-health and safety-specialty lines.
• Owen Mumford: UK-based, family-owned manufacturer of pen needles (Unifine), insulin syringes, lancets, and auto-injector devices for diabetes care. Owen Mumford shares UltiMed's profile as a privately held, independently operated specialty manufacturer competing against the medical-device majors in standardized diabetes consumables.
• Trividia Health (Nipro Diabetes): Independent U.S. diabetes-management company producing blood glucose meters, test strips, lancets, and pen needles. Trividia is the closest U.S.-based independent peer to UltiMed's diabetes consumables focus outside of Embecta.

Broad incumbents

• Terumo: Japanese global medical-device maker whose Terumo Medical Care segment produces pen needles, syringes, and injection components. Terumo competes broadly across the diabetes injection and safety syringe categories where UltiMed operates.
• ICU Medical: Acquired Smiths Medical in 2022, becoming a large-scale manufacturer of syringes, needle safety devices, and IV consumables. ICU Medical competes with UltiMed in safety syringes and specialty injection devices sold to U.S. hospitals and clinicians.
• BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company): Global medical-technology major whose Diabetes Care segment was the historical category leader before being spun off as Embecta. BD retains safety syringes, injection systems, and broader medical device lines, making it the dominant incumbent whose portfolio overlaps with UltiMed's safety/specialty and consumer offerings.
• Zoetis: Largest global animal-health company with veterinary diagnostics, monitoring devices, and pharmaceutical portfolios. Zoetis serves the same veterinary clinics and pet-owner channels that UltiMed targets with UltiCare VetRx and iPet PRO.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UltiMed