What Hilltop Lab Animals does

Hilltop Lab Animals, Inc. is a privately held, Pennsylvania-based laboratory animal supplier founded in 1928, operating from a single facility at 131 Hilltop Drive, Scottdale. The company breeds and supplies CVF® (cesarean-derived, fostered) research animals — including six rat strains, four mouse strains, and the Hartley guinea pig — maintained as closed colonies with documented colony histories and viral antibody profiles. Its core technology is the proprietary closed colony breeding system, which produces animals with stable, documented genetic and health characteristics suited to specific research applications.

Beyond animal supply, Hilltop offers a portfolio of value-add services: vascular and specialty catheter implantation, 18 pre-defined standard surgical models, custom surgical model development, tissue and fluid collection, compound administration, and contract research and housing services. The business sells exclusively through direct phone and email contact to a horizontal customer base spanning pharmaceutical companies, universities, contract research organizations, hospitals, toxicological testing facilities, and government laboratories. Pricing is quote-based on a per-unit basis for animals and services.

The company holds AAALAC International accreditation, signaling compliance with international animal care and welfare standards. It operates entirely within the U.S. domestic market, with no disclosed international sales, no digital or e-commerce channel, and no public-facing technology platform. With 51-100 employees, Hilltop is a small, established niche supplier in the research animal market, sustained by nearly a century of operational expertise and long-standing customer relationships in preclinical and academic research.

Name

Hilltop Lab Animals

Legal name

Hilltop Lab Animals, Inc.

Website

https://hilltoplabs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1928

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Hilltop Lab Animals, founded in 1928, breeds and supplies CVF® cesarean-derived laboratory rats, mice, and guinea pigs to pharmaceutical, academic, government, and contract research customers, with additional surgical and contract research services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Research Animal Models

NAICS

Support Activities for Animal Production (1152), Medical Laboratories (621511), Veterinary Services (54194)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Agricultural Services (700), Services-Medical Laboratories (8071)

akta.pro primary industry

Pharmacy, Biologics & Veterinary Supply Dispensing (Farm Animal) (AFACADAM)

Keywords

• Research animal models
• Laboratory animal supplier
• Surgically modified rats
• Preclinical research animals
• CVF cesarean derived animals

Headquarters

HQ city

Scottdale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

Hilltop Lab Animals, Inc. breeds and supplies CVF (Cesarean-Derived, Virus-Free) and surgically modified laboratory animals — including multiple rat, mouse, and Hartley guinea pig strains — to the scientific community. The company also performs surgical services (catheter implantation, standard and custom surgical models), tissue and fluid collection, compound administration, and contract research and housing services for pharmaceutical, academic, government, and contract research organization clients.

Product overview

Hilltop Lab Animals, Inc. is a laboratory animal breeding and services company offering a portfolio of research animal models and related services. The core product line includes six rat strains (SD, Wistar, Spontaneously Hypertensive, Long Evans, Fischer 344, Lewis), four mouse strains (Swiss, BALB/c, C57BL/6, IRCF1 hybrid), and Hartley guinea pigs. These animal models are sold as standalone products for research purposes. The company supplements animal sales with surgical services including catheter implantation (vascular and specialty catheters), standard surgical models (18 pre-defined procedures), custom surgical model development, tissue and fluid collection services, and compound administration. Contract research and custom housing services are also offered to pharmaceutical, academic, and government research clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SD Hla®(SD)CVF® Rats Sprague-Dawley outbred albino rat strain, established at Hilltop from a colony obtained from NIH in 1984 through cesarean rederivation. Sold for general research use with options for retired breeders, timed pregnant, untimed pregnant, littermates, and mothers with litters.
• Wistar Hla®(WI)CVF® Rats Wistar outbred rat strain descended from rats originally brought to the Wistar Institute, maintained as a closed colony since 1985 (with additional rederivation in 2003). Sold with the same service options (retired breeders, timed/untimed pregnant, littermates, mothers with litters).
• Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat Hla®(SHR)CVF® Hypertensive rat strain descended from Wistar rats selected for hypertension and developed by Okamoto and Aoki in 1963, maintained as an outbred closed colony since 1985. Used in cardiovascular and hypertension research.
• Long Evans Hla®(LE)CVF® Rats
• Fischer 344 F344/NHla®CVF® Rats Inbred Fischer 344 albino rat strain propagated by brother x sister mating and maintained as a closed colony since 1995. Used in toxicology, carcinogenicity, and aging studies.
• Lewis LEW/Hla®CVF® Rats Inbred Lewis rat descended from Wistar Commercial Stock, cesarean derived in 1999 and fostered onto CVF rats, maintained as a closed colony since 1999. Used in transplant, inflammation, and autoimmune research.
• Swiss Hla®(ICR)CVF® Mice Outbred albino Swiss mouse strain originated from Centre Anticancereus Romand in Switzerland, maintained as a closed colony since the 1970s. General-purpose research mouse.
• BALB/c Hla®CVF® Mice Inbred albino BALB/c mouse propagated by brother x sister mating, maintained as a closed colony since 1999. Used widely in immunology, oncology, and antibody-production studies.
• C57BL/6 Hla®CVF® Mice Inbred black C57BL/6 mouse propagated by brother x sister mating, maintained as a closed colony since 1991. The most widely used inbred mouse strain in biomedical research.
• IRCF1 Hla®CVF® Hybrid Mice
• Hartley Hla®(HA)CVF® Guinea Pigs Hartley guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) with albino coat and short hair, maintained using an outbred breeding system as a closed colony for over thirty years. Used in infectious disease, allergy, and otology research.
• Catheter Surgical Services Custom vascular and specialty catheter implantation in rats and mice, including abdominal aorta, carotid artery, femoral, jugular vein, portal vein, bile duct, brain, colonic, duodenal, gastric, ileum, jejunal, urinary bladder, and IP catheter models. Sold to researchers requiring catheterized animals.
• Standard Surgical Models Pre-defined surgical procedures on rats and mice including adrenalectomy, bile duct ligation, castration, hysterectomy, oophorohysterectomy, ovariectomy, hypophysectomy, parathyroidectomy, sciatic nerve section, splenectomy, subtotal hepatectomy/nephrectomy/pancreatectomy, thyroidectomy, TPX, UUO, vagotomy, and vasectomy.
• Custom Surgeries Custom surgical models developed to meet specific customer requirements, performed on rats and mice with high quality work and fast turnaround times.
• Tissue Services and Compound Administration Collection of tissues (adrenal gland, brain, eye, heart, kidney, liver, lungs, ovary, pancreas, pituitary, salivary gland, spleen, tail, testicle, thymus), fluids (sera, CSF, urine, lymph, amniotic fluid, whole blood, plasma, milk), and compound administration services via SC, IP, IM, IV, IG, and tail vein injections.
• Contract Services Custom housing for rats, mice, and guinea pigs plus study work for customers across the country, with high quality and fast turnaround time.

Quantifiable outcome

• AAALAC accredited organization ensuring high standards of animal care

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Taconic Biosciences: Taconic is a major specialty breeder of laboratory mice and rats, including genetically engineered models, with a globally distributed breeding footprint — highly comparable to Hilltop's strain catalog and biopharma/university customer base.
• Janvier Labs: Janvier Labs is a leading European breeder supplying SPF and cesarean-rederived rat and mouse strains for biomedical research — directly comparable to Hilltop's CVF-style product positioning and academic/biopharma customer base.
• The Jackson Laboratory: JAX is a leading nonprofit distributor of inbred, congenic, and genetically engineered mouse strains to academic and commercial researchers worldwide, operating the same core model-supply business model that Hilltop serves.
• Charles River Laboratories: Charles River is the largest global supplier of research animal models (rats, mice, guinea pigs) and offers surgical services, contract research, and bioservices — directly comparable to Hilltop's core product lines and end customers across pharma, academia, and government.
• Inotiv (formerly Envigo / Harlan Laboratories): Inotiv operates research models and contract research services including the legacy Envigo/Harlan rodent and rabbit supply business, serving the same pharmaceutical, academic, and contract research customers as Hilltop.
• Marshall BioResources: Marshall BioResources supplies purpose-bred research animals including mice, rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, and rabbits globally, with associated contract research services — overlapping significantly with Hilltop's species portfolio and customer segments.

Emerging players

• genOway: genOway designs and produces customized transgenic mouse and rat models and offers associated research services, competing for a slice of the same specialty-model demand that Hilltop addresses with its surgical modification and contract offering.
• Ozgene: Ozgene provides genetically modified rodent model generation and contract breeding services — a comparable boutique alternative to Hilltop for customers needing custom in-vivo models rather than off-the-shelf strains.
• Cyagen Biosciences: Cyagen is a faster-growing supplier of custom rodent models and embryonic stem cell services, intersecting with Hilltop's specialty model and contract research business from an adjacent angle on transgenic and genetically engineered animals.

Others

• Transnetyx: Transnetyx provides automated genotyping services to academic and commercial animal facilities, sitting adjacent to Hilltop's animal supply business as a complementary infrastructure provider used by the same research customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HilltopLabsInc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hilltop-lab-animals-inc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Hilltop Lab Animals