Provider's Edge | Where health leaders and innovators learn how to scale smarter, lead stronger, and create lasting impact

How Can a Smaller Prefilled Syringe Transform Medical Logistics with Ian Speers & Robert Halvorsen

September 9, 2026·28 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

What if one of healthcare’s overlooked costs is something we’ve been shipping, storing, and working around for decades?Pre-filled syringes make medication easier to administer But their traditional design can take up valuable space in medical kits, hospitals, and throughout the supply chain.In this episode, I sit down with 𝐈𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬, CEO and Co-Founder, and 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐧, CTO and Co-Founder of 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥, and the 2026 HealthTech Impact Award recipients in the category of BioTech, to unpack how they’re redesigning the pre-filled syringe to fit the same medication into a more compact package.But this conversation goes beyond a syringe.If you’re a healthcare founder or executive asking, 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺?Their journey offers some practical lessons.𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻:✅ How Ian’s experience in medical logistics exposed an overlooked supply-chain problem✅ Why Pacto Medical started by redesigning the bulky plunger rod on pre-filled syringes✅ How reducing packaging volume can affect transportation, storage, cost, and medication access✅ Why the team chose the widely used 10 mL saline flush as its first market✅ How Ian and Robert combined different skill sets to move from an observed problem to a working product✅ Why continuous feedback from clinicians, manufacturers, distributors, purchasers, and pharmaceutical companies matters✅ How human-centered design can reduce cognitive load during high-pressure clinical situations✅ Why founders need to understand the entire path from manufacturing to the end user—not just build a good product𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲What HealthTech Founders Need to Know From Clinical Innovation to Commercial Success - Explains why strong technology is not enough—the product must solve the right problem, fit real clinical workflows, involve clinicians, reduce friction, and have commercial

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