Taconic Biosciences

Taconic Biosciences is a breeder and supplier of laboratory animals operating in over 50 countries.[3] The current CEO is Nancy J. Sandy.[4] As of 2016, the company has over 800 employees and 1300 customers.[5]

They produce selectively bred and genetically engineered mice and rats for research use.[6]

• 1949 – Robert Phelan began shipping mice from his garage in Canajoharie, NY.
• 1952 – Taconic Farms is officially founded in Germantown, NY.
• 1955 – Robert dies, leaving the company to his wife, Sally, and sons, Joseph, Richard, and Samuel.
• 1963 – Contracted to provide BDF1 mice for the National Cancer Institute.
• 1969 – Began offering rats, including Sprague Dawley, one of the most popular breeds of laboratory rat
• 1969 – Taconic was the first breeder to receive full accreditation from the American Association for the Accreditation of Laboratory Animals
• 1970 – Contracted to provide the National Institutes of Health with Sprague Dawley rats. They continue to supply NCI with BDF1 mice.
• 1975 – Began offering the SHR hypertensive rat and the WKY control strain.
• 1980 – Taconic developed the first Isolated Barrier Unit system, a method of housing rodents in a pathogen-free environment.
• 1982 – Began offering Fischer 344 rats and asthmatic rats from Merck-Frost, Montreal, to the product offerings.
• 1985 – Contracted to supply MPF and germ-free animals for the NASA space shuttle missions.
• 1985 – Started producing BALB/c mice.
• 1991 – Became the first commercial provider of the C.B-17 SCID mouse model.
• 1994 – Contracted with National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease to maintain a repository of inbred, congenic, and transgenic mice.
• 2002 – Expanded business to Europe
• 2014 – Name changed from Taconic Farms to Taconic Biosciences[5]
• 2019 – Acquired by H.I.G. Capital[7]

The company was founded by Robert Phelan and was led by the Phelan family until 2007. While the family retains ownership. Todd Little became the first company president to not be a family member.[8]