Description
Neogen Corporation is an international food safety company that provides test kits and relevant products to detect dangerous substances in food. The company was founded in 1982 and is based in Lansing, Michigan. The company serves a wide range of countries including Canada, United States, the United Kingdom, parts of Europe, Mexico and Brazil, India, and China, among others. As of 2016, the company has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion with an enterprise value of $1.57 billion. The company operates a product line of over 100 drug detection test kits worldwide for the detection of about 300 abused and therapeutic drugs in animal treatment. In 2009, it became a vendor of the Chinese government and has been engaged in researching China-specific food safety and plant health issues.
History
The company was founded by Herbert D. "Ted" Doan and James L. Herbert in 1981 as an investment project by Michigan State University. Due to the $50,000 investment by the university, Michigan State retained 30% of the company shares in the early years after its founding. The purpose of the company was to help strengthen the biotechnology community in Lansing and the state as a whole, which had no large biotech companies at the time, and to help retain molecular biologists within the state. One of the earliest acquisitions for the company was Ideal Instruments Inc. in 1985 in order to utilize their production of veterinary tools.
In 2010, Neogen acquired the genomics-focused company GeneSeek in order to expand their focus on animal genomes and proper heredity and breeding, especially in regards to cattle.
Products
Neogen focuses on supplying products for bacterial detection and proper sterilization and tool handling with antibiotics, along with genomics research products focused on gene isolation and heredity mapping. The detection products include Reveal for Salmonella Enteriditis, along with Agri-Screen and Veratox for a range of mycotoxin detections. Advancements in hydrophobic grid membrane filter (HGMF) technology led Neogen to the creation of a disposable filter in 2004 called NEO-GRID.
