SafePath Laboratories

What SafePath Laboratories does

SafePath Laboratories is a privately held veterinary diagnostics company founded in 1995 and headquartered in Carlsbad, California. The company develops and manufactures rapid lateral flow immunoassay test kits under the ZippTest brand, targeting point-of-care detection of canine parvovirus, canine heartworm, and canine giardia antigens, alongside the FP-ELISA II test for Equine Infectious Anemia Virus. Core technology relies on sensitized gold particle-based detection that produces visible test bands in approximately 10 minutes, requiring no specialized technical training. All products are manufactured in a USDA-licensed facility operating under cGMP guidelines with FDA facility registration.

The company's go-to-market operates through two distinct channels. Its small animal diagnostic products (canine parvovirus and heartworm) are sold exclusively through Centaur Animal Health as the sole distribution partner, with the FP-ELISA II equine test also manufactured exclusively for Centaur. In parallel, SafePath offers USDA-licensed contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) services for veterinary biologics and diagnostic products, marketed directly through its website. Its sister company IVD Research, also based in Carlsbad, extends CDMO capabilities into human in vitro diagnostics and shares operational staff. In December 2025, KVP International acquired SafePath Laboratories and IVD Research, with the combined SafePath-IVD entity continuing to serve as KVP's research, development, and manufacturing partner within its diagnostics business.

The business model combines unit-priced diagnostic kit sales distributed through a single channel partner with project-based contract manufacturing revenue. Per-test economics are attractive to veterinary clinics, with in-house test costs of approximately $2 for canine heartworm and $9.50 for canine parvo, representing 75-79% savings relative to send-out laboratory testing. The company addresses veterinary point-of-care diagnostic needs and regulatory compliance requirements for companies developing veterinary biologics.

Name

SafePath Laboratories

Legal name

SafePath Laboratories, LLC

Website

https://safepath.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SafePath Laboratories develops rapid lateral flow immunoassay test kits for veterinary diagnostics, including canine parvovirus, heartworm, giardia, and equine infectious anemia tests. The company also provides USDA-licensed contract manufacturing services for veterinary biologics, serving veterinary clinics and diagnostic product developers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Veterinary Diagnostics

NAICS

In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413), Support Activities for Animal Production (1152)

SIC

In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835), Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)

akta.pro primary industry

Point-of-Care & In-Clinic Diagnostics (Rapid Tests, Benchtop Analyzers) (HLAMADAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Laboratory & Point-of-Care Diagnostic Devices (Analyzers, Test Kits, Microscopy) (HLAMAFAI), Veterinary Microbiology & Infectious Disease Testing (Culture/PCR/Serology) (HLAMADAC)

Keywords

• Veterinary diagnostic tests
• Lateral flow immunoassays
• Animal health diagnostics
• Contract manufacturing CDMO
• Canine parvovirus testing

Headquarters

HQ city

Carlsbad

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Veterinary Diagnostic Test Kits: Sale of rapid lateral flow diagnostic test kits for veterinary applications including canine heartworm, parvovirus, and giardia detection. Products sold through distribution partner Centaur Animal Health and directly for equine health products.
2. Contract Manufacturing Services: CDMO services including product development, clinical trial support, regulatory navigation, and turn-key contract manufacturing. Operates as USDA licensed facility under cGMP guidelines.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

SafePath Laboratories develops and manufactures rapid-response lateral flow immunoassay test kits for veterinary diagnostics, including canine parvovirus, canine heartworm, and giardia antigen tests, as well as the FP-ELISA II Equine Infectious Anemia Virus antibody test. The company also operates a USDA-licensed facility under cGMP guidelines to provide contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) services for veterinary biologics and diagnostic products.

Product overview

SafePath Laboratories is a veterinary diagnostics company offering a portfolio of rapid lateral flow immunoassay test kits for animal health diagnostics, alongside contract manufacturing services. The core product line consists of the ZippTest® brand rapid tests including canine parvovirus, canine heartworm, and canine Giardia antigen detection kits, plus the FP-ELISA II equine infectious anemia test. All products are manufactured in a USDA-licensed facility under cGMP guidelines. The company also provides CDMO contract manufacturing services and distributes products through Centaur Animal Health.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ZippTest: Rapid-response lateral flow immunoassay test kits for detecting antigens in animal samples, including canine parvovirus, canine heartworm, and giardia antigen tests

Products and services

• SafePath ZippTest Canine Parvovirus Antigen Test Kit Lateral flow immunoassay for rapid detection of canine parvovirus antigen in serum, plasma, blood, or stool samples. Provides results in approximately 10 minutes with a visible test line using sensitized gold particles. For veterinary practices.
• SafePath ZippTest Canine Heartworm Antigen Test Kit Lateral flow immunoassay for rapid detection of canine heartworm antigen in blood samples. Delivers results in approximately 10 minutes as an in-house testing option for veterinary practices, costing approximately $2 per test compared to $10-12 for outside laboratory testing.
• SafePath ZippTest Canine Giardia Antigen Test Kit Lateral flow assay for detection of Giardia antigen in canine feces. Provides rapid results in 10 minutes, eliminating the need to send samples to external laboratories. For veterinary practices.
• FP-ELISA II Equine Infectious Anemia Virus Antibody Test Kit Third-generation ELISA test for antibodies to Equine Infectious Anemia Virus in horse serum. Uses fusion of p45 envelope antigen and p26 core antigen with a green conjugate for easier monitoring. Manufactured exclusively for Centaur Animal Health. For equine veterinarians and regulatory programs.
• SafePath Contract Manufacturing Services USDA-licensed contract manufacturing services operating under cGMP guidelines. Includes research and development support, clinical trial setup, regulatory navigation, and turn-key manufacturing capabilities for veterinary diagnostic products. Also serves as a permittee for foreign manufacturers of veterinary biologics seeking to import products into the U.S. For companies developing veterinary biologics.

Quantifiable outcome

• 75-79% cost savings compared to send-out laboratory testing for canine heartworm and parvovirus testing
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.

• IVD ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 November 2018IVD Research is a sister CDMO company located in Carlsbad, California specializing in development and manufacturing of in vitro diagnostics for human and veterinary applications. SafePath and IVD Research share operational staff (Diego Orozco serves as QC Manager for both companies) and work together on contract manufacturing projects. IVD Research licensed a novel biomarker for river blindness (onchocerciasis) from Scripps Research.
• Scripps ResearchstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 November 2018Scripps Research, a nonprofit research organization in La Jolla, California, licensed a novel biomarker for onchocerciasis (river blindness) to IVD Research. The biomarker was developed in the laboratory of Kim Janda, PhD, Professor of Chemistry. This enables monitoring of active infections for onchocerciasis elimination programs.
• Centaur Animal HealthcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 3 January 2018Centaur Animal Health serves as the sole distributor for SafePath's small animal veterinary diagnostic tests including ZippTest CHW Canine Heartworm Antigen Lateral Flow and ZippTest CPV Canine Parvovirus Antigen Lateral Flow test kits. SafePath manufactures EIAV ELISA test kits exclusively for Centaur. This expanded partnership builds on a long-standing relationship to provide customers with comprehensive veterinary diagnostic solutions.
• Foreign Veterinary Biologics ManufacturersminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerAs a USDA Licensed Biologics Manufacturer, SafePath Laboratories is set up to act as a permittee for foreign manufacturers of veterinary biologics seeking to import products into the U.S. This allows foreign companies to partner with SafePath to navigate USDA regulations and import requirements.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• IDEXX Laboratories: Leading global veterinary diagnostics company offering in-clinic analyzers, reference lab services, and rapid tests for companion and livestock animals. Closely comparable as the dominant incumbent in veterinary point-of-care and reference diagnostics that SafePath's ZippTest kits compete against in clinic purchasing decisions.
• Zoetis: Largest global animal health company with a broad diagnostics portfolio including point-of-care analyzers (formerly Abaxis) and reference lab services. Directly comparable as a competing supplier of veterinary rapid diagnostics and as a large-scale CDMO-style manufacturer in animal health.
• Antech Diagnostics (Mars Petcare): Major veterinary diagnostics provider within Mars Petcare, combining reference laboratory services with in-clinic rapid testing solutions. Comparable to SafePath in targeting the same veterinary clinic channel for rapid infectious disease testing in companion animals.
• Virbac: Global animal health pharmaceutical and diagnostics company offering companion animal and livestock health products including rapid diagnostics. Comparable to SafePath in addressing veterinary channel customers and developing point-of-care animal diagnostic kits.
• Bio-Rad Laboratories: Life science and clinical diagnostics manufacturer with substantial immunoassay and in vitro diagnostic reagent offerings. Comparable to SafePath in its role as an IVD substance manufacturer and CDMO partner for diagnostic test developers.

Direct peers

• Neogen Corporation: Animal safety and food safety diagnostics company producing test kits and laboratory services for food-producing animals and companion animals. Comparable to SafePath in its use of lateral flow and immunoassay technologies and its focus on animal health/food safety rapid diagnostics.
• Heska Corporation (now part of Mars/Antech): Pre-acquisition veterinary diagnostics company known for in-clinic chemistry, hematology, and immunoassay analyzers plus rapid tests. Directly comparable to SafePath as a point-of-care veterinary diagnostics specialist before its integration into the Antech/Mars platform.

Emerging players

• Bionote: Veterinary diagnostics company specializing in rapid point-of-care immunoassay analyzers and test kits for companion and livestock animals. Direct competitor in lateral flow veterinary diagnostics with comparable product positioning and channel to clinics.
• Ringbio (Ring Biotechnology): Manufacturer of lateral flow veterinary diagnostic test kits covering companion animal infectious diseases. Comparable to SafePath in product format (lateral flow immunoassays) and target market (veterinary clinics and animal disease testing).

Regional players

• Eurolyser Diagnostica: European veterinary diagnostics manufacturer producing point-of-care analyzers and rapid test kits for veterinary practices. Comparable in lateral flow veterinary diagnostics technology, though primarily serving European clinics rather than competing head-to-head with SafePath's U.S. channel.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/safepath-laboratories-llc

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SafePath Laboratories