Ian Speers | CEO and Co-Founder | Pacto Medical
Ian Speers, MPH, CPH, MedLog, is a prominent figure in the field of medical supply chain management. He currently holds several key positions: CEO and Co-Founder of Pacto Medical, Director of Public Health Emergency Response Innovation at Global Resonance Technologies, and Emergency Management Specialist at the US Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response. At Pacto Medical, Ian leads a team that is revolutionizing medical devices and supplies for better efficiency in complex supply chain settings. Their flagship product, the SlimShot™, is a compact prefilled syringe that is 40% smaller than traditional prefilled syringes, designed to reduce shipping and storage costs while lowering the carbon footprint. At EliteX, we are proud to have Ian Speers as part of Impactful Leaders in Supply Chain, 2024.
In his role at Global Resonance Technologies, Ian contributes to developing technologies for managing logistical challenges in nuclear and radiological emergencies. He also plays a crucial role as an Emergency Management Specialist, where he oversees medical logistics and supply chains for federal field hospitals and clinics during public health emergencies. Ian’s inspiration for his career in supply chain management stemmed from his early work in public health and emergency management in Africa and the Middle East. He recognized that efficient supply chains were critical to improving health outcomes and equity. This realization led him to gain a medical logistics certification and deepen his expertise in solving supply chain issues in public health and emergency response.
“Aspiring leaders should first discover their different passions and then find creative ways to combine them with supply chain and logistics, creating impactful and unique niches to work in.”
The most rewarding aspect of Ian’s work is engaging with end users, patients, and stakeholders who benefit from their projects and products. However, he finds the challenge of pushing back against established norms, especially those influenced by commercial or political interests, to be a significant difficulty. Balancing work and personal life remains a work in progress for Ian. He and his partner strive to maintain balance by supporting each other and making time for relaxation and fun. To stay updated on industry trends, Ian regularly attends supply chain and logistics conferences and engages with professional communities such as the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) and the Chartered Institute for Logistics and Transport (CILT). Through these interactions, he continues to expand his knowledge and stay at the forefront of industry developments.
Ian Speers is working on a groundbreaking product at Pacto Medical: the SlimShot™ prefilled syringe. This innovative design addresses significant issues with the current standard of prefilled syringes, which are widely used due to their convenience and safety benefits. However, traditional prefilled syringes take up a lot of space, leading to inefficiencies and higher costs in sterilization, shipping, storing, and distribution. This can make them expensive and less accessible, especially in low-resource and rural areas.
The SlimShot™ syringe solves this problem by being 40% smaller in terms of packaging volume compared to standard prefilled syringes. Instead of having a plunger that is almost fully extended, which wastes space, SlimShot™ repositions and redesigns the plunger to clip onto the side of the syringe barrel and uses a new assembly mechanism. If adopted and commercialized, the SlimShot™ syringe could have several significant impacts:
Economic Impact: The compact design of SlimShot™ can cut transport costs by 35% or more, depending on the shipping route. With space being a premium in medical logistics, reducing packaging volume lowers sterilization, transportation, and storage costs. This efficiency can accelerate the movement of products through the supply chain, reducing overall costs.
Health Equity Impact: The reduced costs and logistical needs of SlimShot™ make prefilled syringes more accessible and affordable, especially for those in remote and low-resource settings. By reaching more people, particularly the 3.4 billion individuals living in rural areas of developing countries, SlimShot™ enhances health outcomes and safety for both patients and healthcare providers.
Environmental Impact: SlimShot™’s smaller footprint also significantly cuts down the carbon emissions associated with shipping. If the 7 billion prefilled syringes used annually switched to SlimShot™ for one journey across the Atlantic, SlimShot™ would reduce the need for 14,000 40-foot shipping containers for that trip, cutting emissions equivalent to what is sequestered by 5,100 football fields of forest in a year.
“By reducing the packaging footprint, SlimShot™ reduces transport costs by 35% or more, depending on the route.”
Looking ahead, Ian anticipates that the global market and industry regulations will increasingly favor medical products that address environmental concerns and logistical challenges. There is a growing demand for products that are more sustainable and accessible, driven by governmental initiatives like those from the NHS in the UK. Pacto Medical is at the forefront of these changes, demonstrating how simple redesigns in medical products can lead to significant, positive outcomes in the medical supply chain.
Ian Speers offers valuable advice to aspiring leaders in the supply chain field. He encourages them to look beyond the traditional view of supply chain and logistics as isolated sectors. Instead, he suggests that they should take a broad perspective and consider how their personal passions can intersect with these fields. By combining their diverse interests with supply chain and logistics, they can create impactful and unique career paths. Ian also highlights the importance of flexibility as a crucial skill. The nature of supply chain work involves constant changes and challenges, so being adaptable and open to change is essential. Those who excel in supply chain and logistics are often those who embrace obstacles as opportunities to innovate and find creative solutions.
The SlimShot™ syringe repositions the plunger to the side and uses a new assembly mechanism, saving 40% of the packaging volume compared to standard prefilled syringes.”