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 Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

. The company serves a wide range of countries including

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United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, parts of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, 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 The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a Unitary state, unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's ...

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 James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Jame ...

in 1981 as an investment project by

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

. An early $50,000 investment by the Michigan State University Foundation awarded 30% of the company shares in the early years after its founding. The purpose of the company was to help strengthen the

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

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 1991, Neogen purchased WTT, a 1988 spinoff company of the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

that licensed the technology the college had developed. Named for the company's founding professors David Watt, Hsin-Hsiung "Daniel" Tai, and Thomas Tobin, WTT manufactured drug-detection tests for the

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

industry. The

ELISA The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay is a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence of ...

(enzyme-linked immunoassay) tests allowed officials to test for

performance-enhancing drugs Performance-enhancing substances (PESs), also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. Many substances, such as anabolic steroids, can be used to improve at ...

that were difficult to detect in 1988. In 2010, Neogen acquired the

genomics Genomics is an interdisciplinary field of molecular biology focusing on the structure, function, evolution, mapping, and editing of genomes. A genome is an organism's complete set of DNA, including all of its genes as well as its hierarchical, ...

-focused company GeneSeek in order to expand their focus on animal genomes and proper heredity and breeding, especially in regards to cattle. In December 2021, 3M announced that it would merge its food-safety business with Neogen. The deal, with an enterprise value of about $5.3 billion, closed in September 2022.

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 A mycotoxin (from the Greek μύκης , "fungus" and τοξικός , "poisonous") is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by fungi and is capable of causing disease and death in both humans and other animals. The term 'mycotoxin' is usually rese ...

detections. Advancements in hydrophobic grid membrane filter (HGMF) technology led Neogen to the creation of a disposable filter in 2004 called NEO-GRID.

Organization

The company operates its business through two segments including

Food Safety Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, food processing, preparation, and food storage, storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a simi ...

and Animal Safety. The Food Safety segment provides diagnostic test kits and other complementary products for dangerous or unintended substances testing in both human and animal food. The Animal Safety segment is engaged in developing and supplying pharmaceuticals and medical instruments that are used in the global veterinary market. The latter segment also produces medicine to control animal disease and rodents in wide industries including agriculture and food production. In 2013, the company acquired Chem-Tech Ltd, which used to be wholly owned by Pat and Kelle Rolfes.

References

Literature cited

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External links

* {{authority control Food and drink companies of the United States Companies based in Lansing, Michigan Food and drink companies established in 1981 1981 establishments in Michigan Companies listed on the Nasdaq