In 1989, Retractable's founder, Thomas J. Shaw, saw a television news segment about a doctor who had contracted HIV from an accidental needlestick injury. The doctor complained that design engineers were insensitive and unresponsive to the dangers faced daily by frontline healthcare workers.

Shaw, a mechanical and structural engineer, was struck by the doctor's criticism and felt compelled to act. After spending a year developing preliminary design concepts, Shaw was awarded a $50,000 grant by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a subsidiary of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to further develop his design concepts. Later he was awarded a $600,000 grant to commercialize the production of one of his retractable syringe designs and to produce 10,000 samples for clinical trials.

Retractable Technologies, Inc. is the manufacturer of VanishPoint® and Patient Safe® safety products. VanishPoint® products retract the needle directly from the patient, effectively reducing exposure to the contaminated needle. Patient Safe® syringes are uniquely designed to reduce the risk of bloodstream infections resulting from catheter hub contamination.

Through innovation, education, and the development of safe and reliable medical devices, we strive to be a catalyst in reducing the worldwide spread of infectious disease.