Coloplast
Danish multinational medical-device company focused on ostomy, urology, continence care, wound care, and related services.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Coloplast A/S is a Danish multinational healthcare company that develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices and associated services for people living with ostomies, urological conditions, continence problems, and selected wound-care needs. Its products are used by patients in daily self-care as well as by hospitals, clinics, wholesalers, retailers, and other healthcare institutions. In some markets, the company also supplies users directly through specialized distribution businesses. The company was established in 1957 by Aage Louis-Hansen. Its origins are associated with the development of practical ostomy products intended to improve hygiene, security, and quality of life for people who had undergone ostomy surgery. From that initial focus, Coloplast developed a broader portfolio spanning ostomy appliances and accessories, intermittent and indwelling catheterization, continence management, wound and skin care, and services supporting long-term users. Its brand proposition is built around combining clinical performance with discreet, comfortable, and manageable products for everyday life. Coloplast operates internationally, with sales activities in dozens of countries and manufacturing operations reported in Denmark, Hungary, France, China, and the United States. Its global headquarters are in Humlebæk, while its North American operations and headquarters are based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company serves several routes to market: direct relationships with hospitals and institutions, sales through wholesalers and retailers, and direct-to-consumer or reimbursement-oriented distribution in selected countries. This combination gives Coloplast both a clinical presence and a consumer-facing role in categories where patients use products repeatedly over long periods. Its major business areas are ostomy care, continence care, urology care, and voice and respiratory care following the acquisition of Atos Medical. Ostomy products include one-piece and two-piece pouching systems, skin barriers, accessories, and solutions designed to reduce leakage and improve fit. Urology and continence products include intermittent catheters and related supplies, while direct distribution businesses support prescription fulfillment and home delivery. Atos Medical added specialist products for people who have undergone laryngectomy, including voice rehabilitation and airway-management technologies. Coloplast is listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen under the COLO B share class. The company has expanded through internal product development and acquisitions, including Mpathy Medical Devices, Comfort Medical, Hope Medical, Rocky Medical Supply, and Atos Medical. The Atos transaction, announced in 2021, was a particularly significant strategic move because it broadened Coloplast's portfolio into laryngectomy care and strengthened its position in specialized medical technology. The company presents itself as a patient-centered medical-device business rather than as a conventional consumer-goods brand. Its competitive position depends on product reliability, clinical relationships, reimbursement access, distribution capability, user education, and the ability to improve comfort and independence in intimate areas of care. Coloplast has also received external recognition for innovation and employment practices, although its history includes regulatory and litigation controversy concerning transvaginal surgical mesh products. The subject remains an active international healthcare company with a portfolio spanning both long-established care categories and acquired specialist technologies.
History
Coloplast was founded in Denmark in 1957 by Aage Louis-Hansen. The company emerged from a practical healthcare need: people who had undergone ostomy surgery required appliances that could contain bodily waste more securely and hygienically while remaining usable in everyday life. Ostomy care became the foundation of the business and shaped the company's continuing emphasis on patient dignity, comfort, skin protection, and independence. Over subsequent decades, Coloplast broadened from a specialist ostomy supplier into a diversified medical-device company. Its portfolio expanded into urology and continence care, including products for intermittent catheterization and other forms of bladder management. These categories placed Coloplast in both institutional healthcare and long-term home care, where product consistency, ease of use, reimbursement, and reliable distribution are central to the patient experience. The company also developed wound-care and skin-care offerings connected to the needs of people using medical appliances or managing chronic conditions. International expansion made Coloplast a multinational operation rather than a solely Danish manufacturer. The company established sales activities across Europe, North America, and other global regions, while building production capacity in Denmark, Hungary, France, China, and the United States. Its global headquarters remained in Humlebæk, Denmark, and its North American headquarters were established in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The business developed several routes to market, supplying hospitals and institutions, selling through wholesalers and retailers, and operating direct-to-consumer channels in selected countries. Acquisitions became an important part of Coloplast's expansion. In 2010, the company acquired Mpathy Medical Devices. In 2016, it purchased Comfort Medical, a Coral Springs, Florida-based direct-to-consumer medical supplier, for approximately USD 160 million. Comfort Medical had itself expanded through the acquisition of Medical Direct Club and Liberty Medical's urological division in 2015. Coloplast later added Hope Medical and Rocky Medical Supply in 2020 and integrated those organizations into Comfort Medical. These transactions strengthened the company's ability to serve patients outside hospitals through prescription fulfillment, home delivery, and specialized customer support. The company's largest referenced strategic expansion was the 2021 agreement to acquire Atos Medical from PAI Partners for approximately EUR 2.16 billion. Atos brought laryngectomy technology and related voice-rehabilitation products into Coloplast. The transaction moved the company beyond its traditional ostomy, urology, and continence categories and added a specialist platform serving people who require airway management and alternative voice solutions after laryngectomy. Coloplast has been recognized externally for innovation and workplace practices. Forbes placed it among the world's more innovative companies in the mid-2010s, and its Minnesota operations appeared in the Star Tribune's employer rankings. At the same time, the company's history includes serious regulatory and legal challenges connected with transvaginal surgical mesh. In 2019, the U.S. FDA required Coloplast and Boston Scientific to halt sales and distribution of certain mesh implants for pelvic-organ-prolapse repair because the companies had not established that the products were safe and effective for that use. Coloplast was also among companies that had previously faced or settled multimillion-dollar litigation relating to alleged injuries from transvaginal mesh. Today, Coloplast operates as a publicly listed Danish medical-device company with a broad international footprint. Its core identity remains rooted in recurring-use products for intimate and chronic-care needs, while acquisitions have added direct distribution and specialist surgical-rehabilitation capabilities. The company's business model combines medical innovation, professional healthcare relationships, patient support, manufacturing, and reimbursement-sensitive distribution.
- 2021
Atos Medical acquisition announced
[1]Coloplast announced an approximately EUR 2.16 billion acquisition of Atos Medical, adding laryngectomy and voice-rehabilitation technology.
- 2020
Hope Medical and Rocky Medical Supply acquisitions
[1]Coloplast acquired the two U.S. medical suppliers and integrated them into Comfort Medical.
- 2019
Regulatory action involving transvaginal surgical mesh
[1]The U.S. FDA ordered a halt to sales and distribution of certain Coloplast transvaginal mesh implants for pelvic-organ-prolapse repair.
- 2016
Comfort Medical joins Coloplast
[1]Coloplast acquired U.S. direct-to-consumer supplier Comfort Medical for approximately USD 160 million.
- 2016
Recognition for innovation
[1]Forbes ranked Coloplast among the world's most innovative companies and among the leading innovative companies in Europe.
- 2015
Comfort Medical expands its urological distribution platform
[1]Before its acquisition by Coloplast, Comfort Medical acquired Medical Direct Club and the urological division of Liberty Medical.
- 2010
Acquisition of Mpathy Medical Devices
[1]Coloplast acquired Mpathy Medical Devices as part of its expansion through medical-device acquisitions.
- 1957
Coloplast is founded in Denmark
[1]Aage Louis-Hansen founded Coloplast, establishing the company around medical products for ostomy care.
Products and positioning
A premium, patient-centered medical-care brand emphasizing clinical reliability, comfort, discretion, independence, and long-term support for intimate and chronic-care needs.
Ostomy care
SenSura Mio
SenSura Mio is an ostomy-care range designed around pouching systems and skin barriers for people with colostomies, ileostomies, or urostomies. The range is positioned around body-conforming fit, secure wear, skin protection, and discreet everyday use. Its portfolio includes different configurations and accessories intended to accommodate individual stoma and lifestyle requirements.
Continence care
Conveen
Conveen is a Coloplast continence-care brand covering products used in external urinary management and related care routines. It is intended to support users who need discreet, practical solutions for urinary leakage or bladder-management needs. The brand is distributed through healthcare channels and, in selected markets, through home-care and direct-service channels.
Urology and intermittent catheterization
SpeediCath
SpeediCath is a range of intermittent urinary catheters for users who catheterize to empty the bladder. The products emphasize smooth handling, ease of insertion, and suitability for repeated self-catheterization or assisted catheterization. The range serves both clinical and home-care settings and is part of Coloplast's broader urology portfolio.
Laryngectomy and airway care · 2021
Atos Medical laryngectomy and voice-rehabilitation solutions
Atos Medical's portfolio includes products for people living after laryngectomy, including voice-rehabilitation technologies, speech-related accessories, and airway-management solutions. These products address specialist clinical and daily-living needs and broaden Coloplast's activities into head-and-neck rehabilitation and respiratory care.
Controversies
2019
Transvaginal surgical mesh regulatory and litigation controversy
Coloplast was among medical-device companies involved in litigation concerning transvaginal surgical mesh implants. In 2019, the U.S. FDA ordered Coloplast and Boston Scientific to stop selling and distributing certain mesh products for pelvic-organ-prolapse repair because the companies had not demonstrated that the products were safe and effective for that use. The episode followed earlier multimillion-dollar settlements and broader scrutiny of transvaginal mesh safety.
Brand decisions
2021
Acquire Atos MedicalM&ABackground
Coloplast pursued a major strategic expansion into laryngectomy, airway management, and voice rehabilitation.
Action taken
Coloplast announced an acquisition of Atos Medical from PAI Partners.
Aftermath
The transaction added a specialist laryngectomy platform and broadened Coloplast's medical-technology portfolio beyond its traditional ostomy, urology, and continence categories.
Acquisition price. Approximately EUR 2.16 billion (2021 acquisition announcement)
2020
Add Hope Medical and Rocky Medical SupplyM&ABackground
Coloplast continued building its U.S. direct-distribution and home-care network through the Comfort Medical platform.
Action taken
The company announced acquisitions of Hope Medical and Rocky Medical Supply and integrated them into Comfort Medical.
Aftermath
The integrations expanded the reach of Coloplast's U.S. patient-service and supply operations.
2019
Respond to FDA action on transvaginal meshOtherBackground
U.S. regulators concluded that certain transvaginal mesh implants had not been shown to be safe and effective for pelvic-organ-prolapse repair.
Action taken
The FDA ordered Coloplast and Boston Scientific to halt sales and distribution of the affected products.
Aftermath
The action added regulatory restrictions to existing litigation and public scrutiny surrounding transvaginal surgical mesh.
2016
Acquire Comfort MedicalM&ABackground
Coloplast sought to strengthen direct-to-consumer distribution and patient support in the United States.
Action taken
Coloplast acquired Comfort Medical, a U.S. supplier serving urology and continence patients.
Aftermath
Comfort Medical became a platform for subsequent additions, including Hope Medical and Rocky Medical Supply.
Acquisition price. Approximately USD 160 million (2016 acquisition announcement)
2010
Acquire Mpathy Medical DevicesM&ABackground
Coloplast used acquisition as a means of expanding its medical-device activities.
Action taken
The company acquired Mpathy Medical Devices.
Aftermath
The transaction became part of Coloplast's broader pattern of portfolio and capability expansion.
Recent events
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