Medgene Labs
Medgene Labs is a US veterinary biologics company that develops and sells prescription-only vaccines for beef and dairy cattle, swine, rabbits, and deer, using its proprietary ISPrime five-step vaccine development platform. It distributes exclusively through veterinarian prescription channels and partnered with Elanco Animal Health in 2025 to commercialize an H5N1 vaccine for dairy cattle.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersSioux Falls, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Medgene Labs does
Medgene Labs, operating as the dba of VST Labs, is a US veterinary biologics company headquartered in Brookings, South Dakota, that develops and sells prescription vaccines for livestock species including beef and dairy cattle, swine, rabbits, and deer. The company's technology core is ISPrime, a proprietary five-step vaccine development discipline that combines USDA regulatory guidance, veterinarian-only prescription distribution, proprietary Spice bioinformatics, clinical trials, and managed production. Medgene positions ISPrime as enabling vaccine development in weeks rather than years and emphasizes that all vaccine ingredients are animal origin free. The portfolio includes cattle vaccines (BRSV, BVD, Cryptosporidium, Bovine Coronavirus, Bovine Papillomavirus, Bovine Influenza D, scours, horn fly and tick vaccines), a USDA-licensed swine vaccine portfolio, the RHDV2 vaccine for rabbits, and the EHD vaccine for deer launched in 2019.
Medgene's commercial model is sales-led and prescription-driven: vaccines are sold exclusively through veterinarian prescription and distributed via farm and clinic channels, with orders taken via phone or email. The company does not disclose product pricing. It markets through industry conferences (AABP, Angus Convention, VMX, CattleCon, Texas Cattle Raisers Convention, Exotics365), a proprietary podcast, technical bulletins, and social channels. Customers are enterprise livestock producers across dairy, beef, swine, deer, and rabbit segments.
The most strategically significant shift is the February 2025 partnership with Elanco Animal Health to commercialize Medgene's H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza vaccine for dairy cattle, which is in the final stages of USDA conditional license approval amid an outbreak affecting nearly 1,000 US dairy herds since March 2024. The firm also holds USDA platform vaccine licenses for cattle producers, a USDA swine vaccine license, and a USDA/Foreign Animal Disease R&D agreement covering Nipah and RIFT, indicating a deliberate platform expansion into outbreak-response and zoonotic disease territory.
Medgene Labs firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Medgene Labs
- Legal name
- VST Labs, dba Medgene
- Website
- https://medgenelabs.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Medgene Labs is a US veterinary biologics company that develops and sells prescription-only vaccines for beef and dairy cattle, swine, rabbits, and deer, using its proprietary ISPrime five-step vaccine development platform. It distributes exclusively through veterinarian prescription channels and partnered with Elanco Animal Health in 2025 to commercialize an H5N1 vaccine for dairy cattle.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Medgene Labs industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Veterinary Vaccines
- SIC
- Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Veterinary Vaccines (Biologics) (HLAMAEAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Vaccine Technology Platforms (Live, Inactivated, Subunit, Vector, mRNA/DNA) (HLAMAKAH), Vaccine R&D, Clinical/Field Trials & Regulatory Affairs (HLAMAKAM), Livestock Vaccines (Cattle, Swine, Sheep & Goats) (HLAMAKAB)
Keywords
Where Medgene Labs is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sioux Falls
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Medgene Labs business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Veterinary Biologics/Vaccines: Sale of prescription vaccines for livestock and animals including cattle (beef and dairy), swine, rabbits, and deer. Products developed using ISPrime platform for rapid vaccine development against existing and emerging diseases.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Medgene Labs product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Medgene Labs develops and manufactures prescription veterinary vaccines for livestock and animals, including cattle (beef and dairy), swine, deer, and rabbits. Vaccines are built using the proprietary ISPrime 5-step development discipline and Spice bioinformatics platform, are animal-origin-free, and are distributed exclusively through veterinarian prescription via farm and clinic channels.
Product overview
Medgene Labs is a veterinary vaccine company offering animal health vaccines for multiple species: cattle (beef and dairy), swine, rabbits, and deer. Their product portfolio centers on ISPRIME™, a proprietary 5-step vaccine development platform that enables rapid vaccine creation using modern diagnostics, bioinformatics, and USDA-guided processes. The company produces prescription platform biologics that are animal origin free and are prescribed by veterinarians for farm and clinic distribution. Core products include vaccines for cattle diseases (BRSV, BVD, Cryptosporidium, Bovine Coronavirus), the RHDV2 vaccine for rabbits, EHD vaccine for deer, and an H5N1 avian influenza vaccine developed in partnership with Elanco.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ISPrime: A 5-step discipline developed to harness the unique stages of vaccine development into one safe, fast process. Includes USDA guidance, prescribed by veterinarians, farm/clinic distribution, proprietary Spice bioinformatics, clinical trials, and carefully managed production.
Products and services
- ISPRIME™ Vaccine Development Platform A proprietary 5-step discipline developed by Medgene to harness unique stages of vaccine development into one safe, fast process. Combines USDA guidance, veterinarian prescription, farm/clinic distribution, proprietary Spice bioinformatics, clinical trials, and carefully managed production to enable vaccine development in weeks rather than years.
- Cattle Vaccines (Beef & Dairy) Vaccines for beef and dairy cattle producers addressing diseases including Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV), Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD), Cryptosporidiosis, Bovine Coronavirus, Bovine Papillomavirus, Bovine Influenza D, scours, horn flies, and ticks. Distributed under USDA Platform Vaccine license.
- Swine Vaccines Vaccines for swine producers covering Porcine Rotavirus and other swine diseases. Medgene holds USDA license to provide portfolio of vaccines to swine producers.
- RHDV2 Vaccine for Rabbits Vaccine for rabbits addressing Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus type 2 (RHDV2). Underwent clinical trials led by Medgene's cofounder and CTO, fulfilling a crucial role for rabbit owners.
- EHD Vaccine for Deer Vaccine for deer addressing Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD). Launched in 2019 and impactful for deer farmers.
- H5N1 Avian Influenza Vaccine for Dairy Cattle Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) vaccine for dairy cattle developed in collaboration with Elanco Animal Health to address H5N1 affecting nearly 1,000 U.S. dairy herds since March 2024.
- Cryptosporidium Vaccine for Cattle First and only Cryptosporidium vaccine for cattle, addressing cryptosporidiosis in calves. Represents a novel vaccine development for a significant cattle disease.
Quantifiable outcome
- Vaccine development in weeks versus years
Companies that use Medgene Labs
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Medgene Labs technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Medgene Labs partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Elanco Animal Health Inc.flagshipElanco Animal Health announced a partnership with Medgene to commercialize a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) vaccine for dairy cattle. Medgene's vaccine is in the final stages of USDA conditional license approval. The collaboration addresses H5N1 spread affecting nearly 1,000 dairy herds across the U.S. since March 2024, positioning the vaccine as a routine solution for the dairy industry.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Medgene Labs competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Huvepharma: Animal health and nutrition company with a livestock vaccine portfolio and a focus on production animal health. Comparable as a specialty animal health peer with overlapping species (cattle, swine) and biologics capabilities.
- Ceva Animal Health: Independent global animal health company with a meaningful livestock and companion animal vaccine portfolio. Comparable as a mid-sized specialty vaccine developer and manufacturer competing in similar livestock segments.
- Vaxxinova: Specialty animal vaccine company focused on autogenous and licensed livestock vaccines, particularly for poultry and swine. Comparable as a similarly sized specialty vaccine developer targeting livestock producers through vet and direct channels.
- Phibro Animal Health: Mid-sized animal health and nutrition company offering vaccines and biologics for cattle, swine, and poultry. Comparable as a publicly traded mid-tier livestock vaccine peer targeting similar producer customers.
- Colorado Serum Company: Independent U.S. manufacturer of veterinary biologics and diagnostics with USDA-licensed livestock vaccines. Comparable as a similarly sized U.S.-based veterinary biologics manufacturer serving cattle and other livestock producers.
- Addison Biological Laboratory: U.S. veterinary biologics manufacturer focused on livestock vaccines and diagnostics, especially cattle. Comparable as a small, specialized veterinary vaccine producer serving similar producer and veterinarian channels.
Broad incumbents
- Merck Animal Health: Division of Merck offering a broad portfolio of livestock vaccines and biologics for cattle, swine, and poultry. Comparable as an established animal health vaccine provider with deep USDA-licensed product lines competing in the same producer channels.
- Elanco Animal Health: Major animal health company and Medgene's strategic commercialization partner for the H5N1 dairy cattle vaccine. Comparable as a livestock vaccine leader and partner/competitor combination, with overlapping product targets and channel access.
- Zoetis: Largest pure-play animal health company globally, with a comprehensive livestock vaccine portfolio covering cattle, swine, and poultry. Directly comparable as a veterinary vaccine incumbent with overlapping species targets, though vastly larger in scale and distribution reach.
- Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health: Global animal health business with significant livestock vaccine franchises for swine and cattle. Comparable as a large incumbent offering USDA-licensed biologics in overlapping species and disease areas.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Medgene Labs social profiles
Digital presenceMedgene Labs financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Medgene Labs leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Medgene Labs funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Medgene Labs M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Medgene Labs
What does Medgene Labs do?
Medgene Labs develops and manufactures prescription veterinary vaccines for livestock and animals, including cattle (beef and dairy), swine, deer, and rabbits. Vaccines are built using the proprietary ISPrime 5-step development discipline and Spice bioinformatics platform, are animal-origin-free, and are distributed exclusively through veterinarian prescription via farm and clinic channels.
Is Medgene Labs a public or private company?
Medgene Labs is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Medgene Labs founded?
Medgene Labs was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Medgene Labs based?
Medgene Labs is headquartered in Sioux Falls, United States, in the North America region.
How does Medgene Labs make money?
One revenue line is on record: veterinary Biologics/Vaccines.
Who are Medgene Labs's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Huvepharma, Ceva Animal Health, Vaxxinova, Phibro Animal Health, Colorado Serum Company and Addison Biological Laboratory. Broad incumbents are Merck Animal Health, Elanco Animal Health, Zoetis and Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health.
Does Medgene Labs have an API?
No public API is recorded for Medgene Labs.
What industry is Medgene Labs in?
Medgene Labs's product category is Veterinary Vaccines. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAMAEAL, Veterinary Vaccines (Biologics), with a secondary code of HLAMAKAH, Vaccine Technology Platforms (Live, Inactivated, Subunit, Vector, mRNA/DNA). Its SIC code is 2836.