What Invetus does

Invetus is the largest Australian veterinary contract research organisation (CRO), operating three research facilities across Australia and New Zealand: Wongaburra Research Centre in Casino, NSW (companion animals); Armidale Research Centre in Armidale, NSW (production animals); and Estendart Research Centre in Palmerston North, NZ. The company was formed in December 2016 through the merger of Veterinary Health Research, Vetx Research (Australia), and Pharmfirst (NZ), bringing together decades of GLP-compliant animal health research capability. Invetus provides fee-for-service preclinical, clinical, efficacy, safety, residue, and bioequivalence studies to approximately 600 active customers across animal health companies, biotech firms, veterinarians, farmers, government bodies, and universities, with a staff of more than 70 (about one-third with university qualifications) and more than 500 years of combined veterinary and research experience.

The company's underlying technology is its integrated CRO platform: purpose-built facilities (climate-controlled housing for 120 dogs and 50 cats at WRC, plus full livestock/equine infrastructure at ARC), long-standing regulatory credentials (AAALAC accreditation—the first CRO in Australasia to achieve full AAALAC status in 2014—plus GLP, GCP, and GMP compliance), the Invetus Clinical Network (ICN) for multi-centre companion animal studies across 50+ veterinary hospitals, and the Invetus Pet Network for clinical trial recruitment. The business model is project-based contract research with quote-based pricing and multi-year contract cadences; revenue streams include contract research services, diagnostic/parasitology services, and a growing preclinical/ comparative oncology line serving human therapeutics developers. Notable capabilities include unique access to the paralysis tick (Ixodes holocyclus) endemic region in Northern Rivers NSW, contra-seasonal research advantages from Southern Hemisphere location, and comparative oncology using naturally occurring disease in companion animals as large mammal models for human drug development.

Name

Invetus

Legal name

Invetus Proprietary Limited

Website

https://invetus.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Invetus is the largest Australian veterinary contract research organisation, providing preclinical, clinical, efficacy, safety and residue studies across companion and production animals from three research facilities in Australia and New Zealand for animal health companies, biotech firms, veterinarians, governments and universities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Veterinary Contract Research Services

NAICS

Veterinary Services (54194), Support Activities for Animal Production (1152)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Therapeutic-Area CROs (e.g., oncology/rare disease) (HLAGAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Clinical Research, Trials & Translational Services (Veterinary Regenerative) (HLAMANAL)

Keywords

• Veterinary contract research
• Animal health research
• Clinical trial services
• Preclinical research services
• Pharmaceutical contract research

Headquarters

HQ city

Armidale

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Contract Research Services: Fee-for-service contract research for animal health companies developing veterinary products. Studies are designed to satisfy international, commonwealth and state registration requirements. Revenue generated through project-based contracts for efficacy, safety, residue, and clinical studies.
2. Diagnostic Services: Parasite monitoring and diagnostic services including faecal egg counts, worm monitoring, drench resistance testing for farmers and graziers. Offered both directly and via rural store distribution.
3. Preclinical Research Services: Preclinical trials in large mammal species including sheep, pigs and dogs for human therapeutics companies. Can assist in reducing cost and time to Phase 1 trials for human therapeutics.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Invetus is a veterinary contract research organisation (CRO) that designs and conducts preclinical and clinical studies for animal health and human therapeutic products across companion and production animal species. The company operates three wholly-owned research facilities—Wongaburra Research Centre in Casino NSW (companion animals), Armidale Research Centre in NSW (production animals), and Estendart Research Centre in Palmerston North, New Zealand—supported by the Invetus Clinical Network for multi-centre companion animal trials and the Invetus Pet Network for clinical trial recruitment.

Product overview

Invetus is a veterinary contract research organisation (CRO) providing comprehensive animal health research services across Australia and New Zealand. The company operates through three main research facilities—Wongaburra Research Centre (companion animals) and Armidale Research Centre (production animals) in Australia, plus the Estendart Research Centre in New Zealand—supported by the Invetus Clinical Network for multi-centre companion animal field studies. Services span preclinical studies for human therapeutics, clinical trials, laboratory studies, and parasitology research. The company also operates the Invetus Pet Network for recruiting pet owners into clinical trials. Research capabilities include any species, any degree of rigour, and any area of animal health, covering both companion animals (dogs, cats) and production animals (cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, chickens, goats, alpacas, deer).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wongaburra Research Centre Main companion animal research facility located in Casino, Northern Rivers NSW, with climate-controlled individual housing for 120 dogs and 50 cats, a licensed veterinary hospital (Licence No. 000963), and veterinary entomology capabilities including access to paralysis tick (Ixodes holocyclus) endemic regions. Supports surgical, anaesthetic, efficacy and safety studies in companion animals for animal health sponsors.
• Armidale Research Centre Main production animal research centre located at the University of New England campus in Armidale, NSW, offering pen and field study capabilities for cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, chickens, goats, alpacas, and deer. Hosts QA management, archiving, and most Finance and IT support for Invetus.
• Estendart Research Centre (ERC) New Zealand research facility operating from Massey University campus in Palmerston North, plus the Jennersmead research farm at Bunnythorpe. Delivers veterinary and preclinical research services to GLP standards with GMP certified manufacturing capabilities for animal health sponsors operating in New Zealand.
• Invetus Clinical Network (ICN) Multi-centre clinical research network providing a single point of contact for companion animal clinical studies across eastern Australia, using trained investigators in GCP studies with experienced monitors ensuring quality from start to finish. VCRN has worked with over 50 veterinary hospitals and specialists in Australia.
• Invetus Pet Network Platform partnering with veterinarians and pet owners to enroll dogs and cats in clinical trials evaluating new veterinary medicines, preventatives, and treatments. Provides opportunities for pet owners whose pets have specific diseases or conditions to participate in studies that develop new treatments.
• Preclinical Research Services Preclinical trials in large mammal species including sheep, pigs, and dogs for human therapeutics companies. Comparative oncology uses spontaneously occurring cancers in companion animals to de-risk and reduce cost and time to Phase I trials for human drug development.

Quantifiable outcome

• Net Promoter Score of 58
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

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

• Australian Eggs LimitedstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019R&D project grant of approximately $400,000 for sustainable worm control in free-range laying systems. Australian Eggs contributing $150,000 cash with remainder in-kind. Project includes PhD student supervision.
• CSIROstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Collaboration through ON Prime business development program focused on comparative oncology. CSIRO's Probing Biosystems unit working with Invetus on using spontaneous disease in companion animals as models for human disease. Team awarded $3,000 in competitive grants.
• GreenLight ClinicalstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Partnership at BIO-Europe 2018 for overseas drug/device developers. Together offer one-stop-shop for R&D programs with Invetus providing large animal models and GreenLight providing full-service CRO services across all phases.
• CannPalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Contract research partnership for registration trials of cannabis-based pain relief drugs for animals. Phase I research for CPAT-01 for pain and inflammation in dogs. CPAT-01 results presented at 2019 AVA symposium.
• GreencrossstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Collaboration on antimicrobial stewardship and UTI management in dogs. Study comparing two antibiotics in urinary tract infections presented at ASAVA conference. Greencross also working with University of Melbourne on antimicrobial stewardship programs.
• Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA)strategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017One of 12 project partners in $9.2m dung beetle ecosystem engineering project. Invetus leads mass rearing, distribution and site monitoring to ensure establishment of new beetle species. Project includes CSIRO, universities and farmers.
• University of New England (UNE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with University of New England for production animal research. ARC is located at UNE campus. Collaboration on R&D projects including Australian Eggs Limited funding for worm control research. Provides access to university expertise and rural infrastructure.
• Massey UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstendart Research Centre operates on Massey University campus in Palmerston North, NZ. Animal research facilities have existed there for over 30 years with ongoing access to university expertise and facilities.
• AMRRICminorOthersCharitable partnership supporting Animal Management in Rural and Remote Indigenous Communities. Invetus chooses to support this not-for-profit charity using One Health approach.
• DELTA SocietyminorOthersDonated to DELTA Society which provides pets as therapy for disabled, elderly and disadvantaged members of society.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Charles River Laboratories: Global preclinical CRO with large-animal safety/efficacy and research models capabilities that overlap directly with Invetus's preclinical and animal-health research services. Far larger scale, but operates Invetus's same category of work across multiple species.
• Labcorp Drug Development (formerly Covance): One of the world's largest CROs offering preclinical, clinical, and central-lab services across all therapeutic areas. Competes with Invetus for multi-regional sponsor mandates and sets pricing benchmarks for veterinary-adjacent preclinical work.
• ICON plc: Global CRO providing outsourced development and commercialisation services to pharma and biotech. Overlaps with Invetus through clinical operations and is a competitor for any sponsor programme that requires Australian/NZ capacity.
• Eurofins Scientific: International bioanalytical and contract laboratory group serving pharma, animal health, and agrochemical clients. Comparable to Invetus on the laboratory/regulatory-study side of veterinary contract research.
• WuXi AppTec: Global CRO/CDMO offering preclinical, clinical, and laboratory services. Competes for sponsor preclinical and translational work that Invetus also targets through its comparative-oncology and large-animal services.

Direct peers

• Inotiv: US-based contract research organisation focused on preclinical and animal-model research for pharma and medical-device clients. Highly comparable to Invetus's preclinical large-mammal and translational offerings, including comparative models.
• Celerion: Early-stage clinical and preclinical CRO that conducts first-in-human and translational studies, including work supported by large-animal models. Closely aligned with Invetus's preclinical-to-Phase-1 positioning for human therapeutics.

Others

• Zoetis: Largest global animal-health company that runs significant in-house R&D and veterinary clinical research. Not a direct CRO peer but a primary customer for veterinary CRO services of the kind Invetus provides.
• IDEXX Laboratories: Global leader in veterinary diagnostics and reference laboratory services with companion-animal research collaborations. Adjacent rather than directly competitive but operates in the same veterinary evidence-generation ecosystem as Invetus.

Emerging players

• Clinipace Worldwide: Mid-sized CRO focused on adaptive clinical trial design and biopharma services, often partnering with specialty CROs for niche indications. A potential collaboration partner for Invetus on animal-health or comparative-oncology trials.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/invetuspets

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries4 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 Invetus