ADS gets ‘new eyes and ears’ to reach next phase of growth 

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Advanced Diabetes Supply has never been in a stronger position for growth, company officials say, and with new CEO Bill Mixon at the helm, they’re confident about its future. 

Leading ADS, a national distributor of specialty diabetes supplies, seems like a sharp divergence from Mixon's previous role leading National Seating & Mobility, a provider of complex rehab technology, but he says the two product categories have similar foundations. 

“At first glance, people might say, ‘Wow, that’s different,’” said Mixon, who has also been serving on the ADS board. “But both are well known in the DME space. Both have a great mission of providing excellent customer service and improving the quality of life for customers. I’m really excited to join this team.” 

ADS was founded by Mark Howard and Tim Cady in 2002 and expanded significantly in 2021, when it acquired US MED (United States Medical Supply), the No. 1 supplier of test strips in the country, according to the HME Databank. It also diversified into insulin pumps and CGMs after Medicare implemented a national mail-order program for diabetes, slashing reimbursement for test strips. 

The biggest challenge for ADS now: Keeping up with demand, says Cady, especially considering CMS’s recent decision to expand coverage for CGMs to include Medicare beneficiaries with Type 2 diabetes. 

“As a company, we are growing so fast, but we need people to support that,” he said. “We have an outside salesforce that calls on (health care practitioners). We also do direct-to-consumer marketing – that was one of the things that attracted us when we acquired US MED; they have a very robust DTC platform.”  

While ADS is currently focused on organic growth, the company is open to further acquisitions, says Mixon. 

“I think we are always looking at the marketplace – we’re certainly open to those things,” he said. “Right now, we’re benefitting from such strong organic growth we want to make sure we’re doing an excellent job of keeping up with that in the current state.” 

For Cady, who along with Howard will transition to strategic advisory roles as members of the board of directors, the shift is “bittersweet.” 

“We have felt confident with Bill’s knowledge and understanding of the challenges and issues as it relates to the DME industry,” he said. “It is bittersweet, but it’s also time for some new eyes and ears to help us get to the next phase of the company.”