About Us History

Epitopix began as the laboratory service division of Willmar Poultry Company. With its affiliate Ag Forte LLC, Wilmar Poultry is the largest turkey breeder and hatchery company in the U.S.

During the 1980's, Willmar Poultry Company (WPC) began to seek innovative ways to improve the health of their turkey breeding stock. In order to combat salmonellosis, E. coli, pasteurella (fowl cholera), and Hemorrhagic Enteritis virus, a vaccine laboratory was created and licensed with the USDA in 1987. The true challenge was to discover a single vaccination that would prevent as many as 30 various serotypes of salmonellosis commonly found in the production of poultry and livestock.

A select team of scientists was formed to discover a new vaccine technology. Through many years of research, we developed ground breaking technology in the form of Siderophore Receptor and Porin (SRP^®) vaccines. This revolutionary vaccine process immunizes against bacterial infections utilizing a cell-free purified extract of Siderophore Receptor and Porin proteins. By the year 1997, vaccine made from the combined SRP's of salmonella, E. coli and P. multocida was in widespread use across the WPC breeder operations in Minnesota.

Subsequently, Epitopix was formed in the year 2002 to commercialize SRP Technology. Discovery and development continues today to bring novel vaccine products to additional markets including livestock, poultry, and companion animals. Epitopix is constantly striving to discover new vaccine technologies that improve animal health and human food safety. Epitopix owns intellectual property rights to all of its findings and has out-licensed SRP development rights for human medical applications to Syntiron, LLC.